


A different story

by Zero_NineArts



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Angst, Blood, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Denial, Distortion of Reality, Fear of Death, Fiction, Flashbacks, Fluff, Gay, M/M, Memory Loss, alternative universe, eldritch being, idiots falling in love, mlm, void
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:47:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 91,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25966876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zero_NineArts/pseuds/Zero_NineArts
Summary: After Benrey was defeated Gordon reached to see the body of his enemy, maybe making sure he was dead even if in the inside he never wanted this, the voices of a fallen resonated through his mind, memories, a lot of them, that couldn't be over there, why did it had to happen, why did he had to lose him, maybe they won but he knew Benrey wasn't like that on purpose, he wanted the truth he needed the truth, everyone knew something he didn't, and he made a promise, they were all going to get out of there, dead, or alive, he knew there was still hope, he wasn't going to lose it.
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman, Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Tommy Coolatta & Darnold
Comments: 22
Kudos: 81





	1. Getting out of here

– Gordon we need to get out of here! –Coomer screamed seeing the place collapsing before their eyes.–

– Something is wrong, this wasn't even supposed to happen! –Tommy screamed hugging Sunkist, he was terrified, confused, so many mixed feelings that couldn't even move from his place.–

– What are you talking about!? –Gordon asked carrying the body of Benrey as he looked everywhere.– There has to be a portal somewhere, right!? Where is it!–

– Gordon! You need to let Benrey go! He knew that he wouldn't make it you need to let him go! This wasn't supposed to happen because you broke the code! Now this place is falling apart and we'll definitely going to fucking die! –Bubby screamed as he looked around with both hands on his head.–

–There! I think I see something! –Tommy said pointing somewhere, it was a cave, almost like the one they came through before, it was starting to block so they had to be quick to go there.–

Everyone started running to the cave, didn't didn't followed Bubby's advice and kept holding Benrey's body really close, he wasn't getting out of there without him, he had so many questions, he needed answers, and of course if he really wasn't bad he could forgive him, but if he did it by his own choice, he would had to kill him without thinking twice. Crawling now in that cave finding for a portal through different tunnels they finally found one, but just stood in front of it, until bubby without thinking twice walked inside it.

– Bubby wait it's dangerous! –Coomer raised his voice and ran inside the portal as well.–

– Mr.Freeman.. I'm scared. –Tommy said with Sunkist besides him, they both were looking at Gordon with scared eyes, they were staring at eachother until they looked back at the portal, The youngest one let out a sigh and looked at Benrey for a few seconds as well, looking up again.– Will he be alright?.. – he asked.–

– Let's go, we've been through a lot, we can do this. –Gordon said ignoring the question and just walked inside the portal expecting to be followed by the other and his dog.–

He walked in the door to the outside of black mesa, it was a huge door, he looked back and it was almost destroyed, no way to get out of there with a normal way but now, after spending days and hours trying to go outside, they were finally there, Coomer just couldn't believe it, he was impressed, and scared at the same time, Bubby was just, confused, Tommy and Sunkist walked in a few seconds later, the portal disappeared, and now they were all staring at that big door, it was easy to just open it but, how long has it been? Some of them have never been outside of that laboratory and what was about to happen was a big deal, after a minute of no one talking, Coomer decided to say something.

– Y'know.. I've never really been outside and I really thought this door didn't existed, maybe we get to see outside for a first time but to be fair.. I'm scared. –Coomer said, pausing for a few seconds.– Gordon, this is not ending here, right? –He asked.–

– No.. I have the feeling that this is not ending here, but, before going out, we need to make a plan, right? So, gather around, there might be a probability that there's more of the army out there, so, I'm sure we still have some guns and ammo, we can just go shooting and of course Sunkist can help why not.–He said, putting Benrey down briefly, he was clearly unresponsive and no one was saying a thing about it, it was something to worry about but no one just wanted to go and say something mean about it considering the situation.– So, try not to die, okay? I'm not sure that if we die out there we'll come back, let's go.–

He picked Benrey back up and looked at the others who were now looking again at the door, Tommy was closer to the button that opened it, so he just looked at the others for a confirmation to do it, until after a few seconds he pressed the button without thinking it twice, sirens started to scream as the door slowly lifted upwards, it looked like an emergency exit and that was what it was, it had a perfect exit to the outside of the facility, like to a parking lot, at least they thought it was still that but as the door started to open and the rays of sun started to hit, it wasn't a parking lot anymore clearly, the floor was cracked, there were a few military vehicles and as the door completely opened, they realized the chaos they unleashed.

Coomer was just amazed, and everyone there as well, Gordon was just freaking out trying not to drop Benrey, what did they do? Why did a mistake made everything such chaos, why did that had to happen in the first place, why?

– I.. I don't understand this wasn't supposed to be real, we weren't supposed to be alive, reality shouldn't exist for us! –Coomer said grabbing his hair as he looked around, what was happening?–

– It must be a new code.. –Tommy said looking around, Sunkist looked at him concerned.– My dad has told me a lot of things but.. This is something new.. Gordon, by grabbing Benrey you rewrote the code, this wasn't supposed to happen, but you changed it completely, maybe we can do something to save this world with the new code, maybe we can be free! –Tommy said happily.–

– I don't know what you mean by code but, I guess is alright. We just need to find a car and get out of here or else the military will catch us again.– Gordon said walking up to the field and looking around, it seemed like the military cars were abandoned, but he wasn't sure if to steal it or just walk somewhere for refuge.–

– Why don't we just take that military car and go find somewhere to stay, we should've rested a long ago, there might be a house around somewhere we could stay, we try to avoid them to, they hate us enough after all, but I'm sure they're busy with something else so fuck it and let's go I'll drive. –Bubby said walking up to the car as he put up the sleeves of his lab coat and just broke the glass, open the door and sat in thw driver's seat.–

After moving some cables the car turned on and when he was done, he looked at the group, smiled and fixed his glasses.

– Get in.–

They all got into the car and tried to make themselves comfortable for the time being, Coomer was in the copilot seat and Tommy with sunkist in the back seat with Gordon and Benrey. The long haired looked down at an unconscious Benrey, who was barely breathing and has lots of wounds, it was hurting him seeing him like that considering it was completely his fault for Benrey to be in that condition, at least he expected to take more care of him once they get somewhere to take refuge or something similar, there could always be some abandoned house, maybe they still had time to grab something.

– Wait, didn't the last time Bubby drove he crashed the car and I almost died?– Gordon realized.–

– Let's go!! –Bubby said and just quickly pressed the pedal, driving out of the facility without problems, maybe crashing onto some weak barriers but they had a military car so it wasn't much of a problem.– Sooo.. About that bank we were going to rob.–

– We'll do that but we need to find somewhere to stay and take care of Benrey. Don't be impatient we'll do it, but we need to rest, and figure out what's happening with the army just hating us.– Gordon said.–

– I mean.. We did kill a lot of them back inside the facility Gordon. –Coomer said looking back briefly.–

– You're right, they do have a reason to hate us. –Gordon replied looking outside and then looking back at Benrey again, he was thinking about taking off his helmet but was scared that if he do that he would trigger something ao he just decides to wait until they got somewhere safe to take it off and let him rest.–

– Mr.Freeman?.. –Tommy asked as he hugged Sunkist who was happily looking outside.–

– Yes Tommy?– He replied looking up to him.–

– You seem.. Really concerned about Benrey.. Is he going to be okay? are you scared that he won't survive? –He asked tilting his head as he carefully petted his dog.–

– I.. Well, maybe? I'm scared that he just won't wake up, but I didn't wanted to leave him behind like that, something told me that I didn't had to do that, I had to take him with me, something tells me that he was telling the truth.– He said looking down briefly to look up again.– I need to know the truth.–

Tommy remained silent for a few seconds to look out for a bit.

– My father is angry at you. –He said.–

Gordon let out a sigh as he looked down, just staring at how Benrey was weakly breathing, now looking up to see where they were, realizing that both Coomer and Bubby looked troubled from where they were, he put Benrey to the side to see better and just felt like his heart came out of his chest.

– Uh.. Gordon, I don't think we can get out of here safely, at least without running over a whole army. –Bubby said looking really worried.–

– Stop the car, now! –Gordon screamed, making Bubby just kick the brakes and wish for the best.–

The car stopped, and a few meters away there were a lot of military cars and people with guns pointing at them, as it seemed, the whole world knew about the incident, and since days passed and did almost nothing about it, the whole world knew about what they did, who they killed, almost like if it was broadcasted, though the others weren't even concerned about what the others thought about them, Gordon was destroyed.

– Gordon, you have any plan? –Coomer asked looking at the military reaching for his gun.–

– I don't think we can just kill all of them, they'll send reinforcements and we're fucking done. Although.. Bubby?– Gordon said now looking at the mentioned.–

– Yes? –

– We'll need to be quick, you like to burn up stuff, right? We will do this quickly, hear me well, we'll burn up those cars and run over them, over there, where's the fence, we can easily run it over with this car, you get the plan? –He said looking at Coomer as well, who was just taking consideration of the plan by just hearing the whole burn up stuff and maybe blowing up stuff as well.–

– Got it, we'll do that happily! –Bubby said with a grin on his lips and pressed the pedal turning around and going to where Gordon told him to go, so before running over the fence he peeked out of the window with his free hand up.–

Smiling some fire started growing from his hand, pointing at a car he turned the wheel directly to the fence.

– EAT MY FIRE YOU FUCKING BOOTLICKERS! –He screamed, throwing the fire ball at a car, blowing up almost instantly with other two as he ran over the fence and followed the road to thw city.– YES! –

– Good job doctor Bubby! I'm proud of you! –Commer said grabbing his own hands as he looked at him with a sweet smile on his lips.

– I-I.. Thanks doctor Coomer. –He replied with a nervous smile on his lips and a little blush on his cheeks as he looked at the front.–

– Aight so, that was only the first part of the plan, we now need to get rid of this car and get a new one, I'm sure there must be one somewhere but we need to be careful with the other military, we'll need to find a plan once we get to the city, and maybe find some clothes I'm not really sure about it really. But we'll have to change clothes to avoid being found by them, we did what we could, we need to find a way to escape from the law, for now. – Gordon said looking at the road, then remembering about Benrey and looking back, he was still unresponsive.– How long will this take? –He asked.–

–Gordon I have to be fair, I've never been outside so I don't really know but by the looks of it.. It'll take a while. – Coomer replied for Bubby since both of them didn't had experience outside.–

– Oh. That's okay, we can wait enough right? This is nothing is.. –He remained quiet for a few seconds.– roadtrip.. –Gordon said to himself looking down.– Shit.–

Maybe an hour passed until they finally got to the city, and when they passed through the first street, everything was nothing but a mess, everything was empty, even stores, they were all closed, but luckily, not empty, but it looked that everyone just ran away in a rush and that was why it was all empty.

– I don't think we can go to my house, they're probably already scanning it or something, I think they hate me the most I need to blend with something.– Gordon said just tired of everything.–

– Maybe some random house? I don't think there's any different so.. There. –Bubby said stopping in front of a house that looked secure enough, but first of course they had to get rid of the car.– Aight get down, I'll take care of this, there might be stuff to eat inside, hope they didn't took anything, I mean we can always go steal a store y'know. –He winked to the others as they just got out of the car.– See you in a bit! –He said after everyone got out of the car and drove away.–

Everyone stared at how the car was now vanishing from their point of view and looked back at the house, walking up to it, luckily the door was open, but that was something strange at the same time, after a while of checking and making sure that no one was there, Gordon put Benrey on the sofa, grabbing a blanket and putting it on top of him, sitting too besides him and slowly taking off his helmet, luckily it didn't trigger a thing and it was just him being paranoid. His hair was short, black and really messy, there were bags under his eyes, he always looked that tired and never really realized that, was he actually doing what it was better for them? Now he wanted to believe his words, he was sad that he couldn't hear him make those jokes that deep down really liked, he laughed with him he wouldn't deny that but their relationship was always a mystery.

– Hey, Coomer? –Gordon asked.– There might be a probability that they erased some of my memories? For good or not? –He said.–

– I-.. I'm not sure about that, not my department but, y'know, some are rumors, hehe.. Well you see, I heard they erased your memories so you could do your work well and don't fuck up the whole experiment but, Benrey noticed.– He said, looking at Tommy for a few seconds, he knew a lot thanks to his dad too.–

– Mr.Freeman, Benrey normally doesn't even talks, you two used to talk outside of work and have a really different way of saying "Hi" when seeing eachother. He knew something was wrong and tried to make you remember but, you took it as the wrong thing.– Tommy said giving Sunkist some food he found.–

– I.. Can I have some time? I don't think I can believe that though it makes some sense.. I can't, I just can't. –He said staring at Benrey sleep.– Let's forget about this, okay? We need to take care of Benrey's injuries for now.–He stood up and walked upstairs looking for a first aid kit trying to avoid windows, although they were luckily closed, they still had to be careful.–

– Dr.Coomer you think Mr.Freeman will be alright? –He asked while he looked at him.–

– Sincerely Tommy, I have no clue.–


	2. Making yourself Comfortable.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The science team needs to find a way to blend in with other people, but they have to stay at an abandoned house while they come out with a plan to get out of there to hopefully a better life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains descriptions of bullet wounds, scratches and wounds in general, if you are sensitive to this topic please read with caution.

Gordon went back down with a first aid kit and started taking out some bandages and serum plus some hand sanitizer, though he didn't knew why he needed it when he was still wearing the HEV suit but he didn't wanted to infect Benrey with something weird or make his wounds heal the bad way, so he put some hand sanitizer on his hands and was very careful with disinfecting the wounds he had on his face, but realizing that he probably had more, he let out a sight and took off his bulletproof vest, unbuttoning his shirt and taking off his tie as well, he too rolled up the other's sleeves so he could take care of those wounds more easily. Maybe they were a little too rough on him but thinking they didn't hurt him that much, he had a lot of wounds, he was just happy that he only got bruises on his chest thanks to the vest but couldn't say the same about other parts of his body, bruises, cuts, bullet holes, even bites, he couldn't help but feel guilty about what they did to him, he could've prevented it if his memories weren't that fucked up, he would like to go back to his house and see old pictures or something, just to remember, to know something else.

He put patches on some superficial wounds and patches and bandages on the worst ones, at least it would help for a while, until he wakes up or sneak to a pharmacy. While he was doing all that Tommy and Coomer were talking in the background, the younger one sitting on the floor while he looked up at the oldest and just smiled carefully petting his dog, he was really proud of Sunkist he wasn't going to lie, creating an immortal dog was the best idea he could've ever had and was really helpful, plus he was grateful, and Sunkist was clearly happy with his life, even though he would live longer than him that wasn't really a problem, he was just thankful that he helped him fight and that nothing bad has happened to him yet.

After about thirty minutes of just waiting for Bubby, Coomer was getting desperate, and wanting to go and look for him, suddenly the mentioned quickly walked in and closed behind him, his clothes were a mess and he was really dirty and had some wounds but that didn't bothered him, he was happily smiling.

– What took you so long!? –Coomer asked preoccupied.–

– Nothing to worry about Dr. Coomer, I threw the car off a cliff and almost fell aswell. –He proudly said, looking how everyone remained silent.– The pain is real!–

– God dammit, come here Bubby.– Gordon said taking out some things of the first aid kit as the mentioned walked up to him and sat besides him, looking at Benrey for a few seconds and then looking back at the younger like nothing.– Where, I see blood you can't hide it from me.–

–Is not that bad is just a same injury we would normally have back in black mesa, it'll be alright! –He said pointing a cut on his leg and some on his waist.–

–Well you see Bubby, this is the outside world, we don't have those medical stations we need to do it by hand, they didn't even worked after all, my hand is s- – He didn't even realized when his hand came back.–

Gordon quickly looked at Tommy who has sitting on the floor talking with Coomer until he realized he was being watched, then looked back at the other with a smile on his face.

– My dad says you're welcome! –

– I.. Okay, yes thank you, god I was way too distracted. –He said looking at his hands and then back to Bubby who was taking off his lab coat, then he went back to taking off everything he needed of the first aid kit.–

Once he was focused enough he started disinfecting the wounds as much as he could leaving the scratches uncovered since they weren't bleeding and weren't too deep except for the one wound in the leg that looked relatively deep and needed to take care of that immediately.

– Bubby? Could you please take off your pants I need to uh, take care of that.–He said pointing at the wound.– I really don't want to break them though they are broken enough.–

–That's fine. –Bubby replied taking off his belt and unbuttoning his pants pulling them down a little to allow him to take care of that wound.–

He started disinfecting it realizing how deep it actually was and let go a sigh, not like he needed to use a needle or something to close it but if he had enough medical knowledge he would've already done that, sadly, he didn't knew much about it, so he only put a patch on top of it and some bandages to cover it better, making sure everything was covered, he cut the bandage and secured it well so when running it would just fall because of that.

–There we go. –He said putting the other stuff in while he left the dirty cotton aside to get rid of it.–

– Thanks Gordon! I mean it still hurts but at least I won't bleed to death! –He said with a smile on his face as he pulled his pants up and put on his belt again, also grabbing his coat and putting it on since it was a bit cold in there.– Where will we sleep? Down here? –He said looking around.–

– Well, there are some beds upstairs, there's a few sheets as well but I don't know about Gordon and Benrey.. Isn't it better to give him a better place to rest? I mean the sofa is not a really good place.– Coomer said as he hold his own hands a bit nervous and pressed them a little.– There's two big beds and a normal size one, Tommy could sleep there and Gordon, if you really want to see Benrey that close, you two can keep one of the big beds of course.–

The younger one was afraid that Coomer took his whole protect Benrey bit as some kind of indirect and now was getting concerned about what the older thought of them, thinking he could just ignore it he realized that he just couldn't and when he wanted to say something about it, Bubby interrupted.

– Sooo.. Who knew you would like Benrey at the end. –Bubby said looking at Gordon with his eyebrows raised and a smug smile on his lips with his eyes mid closed.–

– No! You're taking it wrong! I just need to look after him so he doesn't escapes or starts something again, I need to make sure that he's not really evil, plus, I have questions, he might have the answer and know even more than we think. We need him. –Gordon defended with an angry voice, he didn't liked to be messed with something he was horribly confused about, considering the existence of Benrey was a huge enigma for him.–

– You're in denial I get it. –Bubby said standing up.–

– I'm not! –

– Let's go Bubby I'll show you the rooms! –Coomer said walking up stairs being followed by him.–

Now only Tommy and Gordon aside from Benrey were down there, the long haired looked angry and embarrassed at the same time, he was so tired he didn't wanted to deal with that much bullshit but now half of the group though he liked Benrey and took him by his own benefit, he just wanted the best for the group and comprehend his past, how hard was it to just understand?

– Tommy, please tell me that you believe me. –Gordon said looking at the other that was across the room.–

– Well.. I do believe the whole save Benrey and interrogate him part but, well, I won't believe it until I see it. We just need to wait.– He said hugging his legs as he looked at the other.–

– Thanks, I guess. –

Coomer was showing around the house to Bubby being careful with the windows and others, and even if he tried to be silent his tone of voice wouldn't really allow that, only if he tried hard enough and he was doing precisely that.

On the other side of things, the military was already looking for the science team, being close to his location since going through portals messed up with the gps of the suit, since they've been through a lot they were more than sure that they forgot about the entire gps thing so they were in advantage.

– Have they found out yet? –A voice asked.–

– No sir, they must be somewhere in the city hiding, we're lucky they're stupid enough to not remove the GPS earlier, we might find their location in about 24 hours. –Someone replied.–

– Make it quick, I have business to discuss.– The same voice from earlier said, walking out of the room, a door was heard being closed with force and a grunt followed.–

The whole US military was behind them, following them around, every step, they sadly missed the car they were on and couldn't find them from there and since Bubby got rid of the car they started looking around the radius they found it, thought it was far more away from where they were, they were in danger anyways.

Hours passed by, Benrey was still unconscious, Gordon was trying to take off part of his suit as the others were trying to make themselves comfortable in that house, the long haired was about to take some of it off when time suddenly stopped.

Gordon froze on his place, he stopped trying to take the suit off for now, and just looked up with an angry but kinda scared look, though he was more angry than anything, he was asking himself, why, just why, why was HE here?

– What are you doing here? –He asked, there was no response.– Why are you looking at me like that!? –He asked again, no replies.– What, are you here to make fun of me? Judge me with your look!? I'm tired man! Please, what the fuck do you want!? –He asked again.–

– I'm just here to ask about your hand, is it working fine? –He asked looking down with a neutral face.–

– It's.. It's fine. –He said moving his hand and fingers a bit.–

– Just to let you know, that's not a "meat" hand, because you can't see it yet, that means, I can take it from you whenever I like, don't fuck it up. –He said.– I'll make an exception this one time.–He added looking at Benrey with a fairly angry face.– See you around, Dr.Freeman.–He finished, making time resume.–

Gordon remained silent for a solid minute as he looked a now empty spot in the house.

– I'm way too tired for this shit.– He said looking down until a noise of agitated breathing interrumped his thoughts, it was Benrey.–

He looked up realizing that he was still unconscious but for some reason his breathing was now abnormal and his cheeks were pink, turning around to see him he put a hand on his front and realized that he was burning, he had a fever, and that was serious when he was unconscious and they didn't had a bit of medicine, he started to grow anxious and paranoid, so much that he had to scream for help even if they didn't really had to scream, he forgot all about that in that second.

– Uhh guys!? Benrey is sick!! –He said as he looked at him simply not knowing what to do and hearing how everyone just rushed down stairs.–

– Dear god, we'll have to go to the pharmacy ahead of time! –Coomer said while he looked at Benrey.–

– I told you to leave him behind.–Bubby said.–

– That's rude Bubby you can't say that! We'll do what we can to get medicine Mr.Freeman don't worry. –Tommy said grabbing Bubby's arm and pulling him a little when he said this, he had a comforting smile on his face just trying to keep it under control.–

They immediately went outside through the back door and being careful to not be seen, they looked for a pharmacy and some store where they could buy clothes and pass like normal citizens, as they were going there they almost were saw by some military, Coomer when he saw them immediately reacted and hid everyone, plus he remembered about the GPS and tho he didn't said anything he tried to hurry everyone and get to the store and pharmacy as soon as possible, just hoping that they didn't found them and interrogated them, if they found Gordon they would find Benrey and that was two big fishes in one hit, they had to be aa careful as possible and this time was more serious than never, there was no going back, no restart button, no clones, they were outside, they weren't supposed to be outside.

They finally reached to the Pharmacy, going in from the back door to prevent being accidentally seen by some military, and prevent breaking something to being seen.

– I'm sure everything is labeled. Uh, look for some medicine, food and a new first aid kit, we're gonna need those okay? Go. –Coomer said before going to to look for some food as Tommy and Bubby looked for medicine and the kit.–

Maybe there were only energetic drinks and some nutritional and energy bars but was always better than nothig, they could look for actual food later but they needed to recharge a bit for now, so that helped for a while considering they haven't eaten something good in days. So Coomer now had the food, since there wasn't many things there, there were only two first aid kits left, and Bubby took them with some extra bandage and some band aids, Tommy was looking for the medicine and found it but took some vitamin gummy's as well, once he had everything he did a bag with his coat and went with the others.  
Once they were ready they all got out of there and back to the house as fast as they could, but Coomer was faster and once he got there he left the thing on the table and hurried to Gordon, grabbing him from the shoulders and looking directly at him.

– Gordon I don't want to worry you, but we have a big of a problem.– He said.–

– What, what is it!? Did the army see you? –Gordon asked really worried.–

– I need you to take off the HEV suit, right now.– Coomer said, Gordon laughed thinking it was a joke but after a bit, he realized that it wasn't.– Remember what we heard a while ago? You suit has GPS, they are looking for us! And if you're wearing that auit, you're putting all of us in danger, take.it.off! –He finished saying.–

– B-But what will I wear!? –Gordon asked as he tried to take off the suit as quick as possible.–

– Cover youself with a sheet for now we'll go get something to wear now, we need to find a way to blend in with the other people.– Coomer replied going up quickly to get a sheet and then throw it at Gordon.– Let's go, we have no time to lose.– He said to the others as he walked out of the house again by the back door.–

– We'll come back in some minutes Mr.Freeman, good luck with Benrey! –Tommy said before walking out of the house with Bubby.–

Gordon started to take off the suit as he could and once he finally managed to take off the majority of it he stood up and took the medicine to go to Benrey and sit besides the sofa, but he had to grab him and sit him in order to be able to give him the medicine and not accidentally make him choke on it, he opened the jar and put some of it in a little plastic spoon that came with it, he carefully put it on the lips of the other and dropping the liquid in his mouth, he luckily swallowed it, being afraid that he would choke on it, he felt nothing but relief, leaving the medicine aside as he took off the rest of the suit, being only in his underwear, he took the sheet and wrapped himself around it, waiting for the others to come and ask what to do with the suit. Burn it? It would bring attention, they could break it with a hammer too or just burn it in the oven, what to do with it? There weren't many ways that he could break it avoiding being noticed by the army, if they burned it inside the house, it would burn and it would bring attention as well.

He had to wait as long as he could for the others to get there and make a plan, he just couldn't do something like that alone. After a while of waiting and just freezing as he counted for the time, he stood up looking around for something that could heat them up that wasn't a chimney since that would alert everyone around, so he looked for something powered by gas and maybe that could be the stove but that wasn't really a good idea so he sat on the floor again as he covered entirely with the sheets, at least that was making him feel less cold, now he just had to wait for the others to come and just expect that the medicine helped Benrey at least a little, he was still breathing irregularly but it was slowly turning to normal, so at least he wouldn't just suddenly die because of the fever, but was still afraid of him.

– Why am I even helping him? Something tells me that I can't let him die. –He said to himself as he looked back for a few seconds and then back again to the front.–

After long minutes of waiting the group came back with a lot of bags and Bubby was wearing some sun glasses despite being cloudy and probably unable to see.

– What took you all so long? –Gordon asked shaking a little as he saw everyone walk in and Tommy closing the door after everyone was inside the house.–

–We took some liberties Gordon! The military seem to be somewhere else so we took what we could, here.–Coomer said, approaching the long haired with two bags on his hands and giving them to him.– Go change, we'll look after him. –He smiled.–

Gordon stood up with the bags and smiled back at Coomer, going up stairs with the sheet still around him, and once he was out of the sight of the others Bubby let out a sigh. They all changed their clothes there, Coomer before doing that he reached for a bag and left it besides Benrey, those were the clothes they bought for him, they weren't going to change him themselves, they prefer to wait for him to just wake up and do it himself. After a while everyone already changed their clothes and Gordon just walked downstairs wearing a white tshirt and a long sleeved orange shirt, plus some black pants who were, a little tight.

– My only complaint are the pants, what the fuck. –He said with the sheet on his shoulder and left it on a chair.–

– I'm sorry Mr.Freeman we didn't knew what would fit you better so Bubby chose the size.–Tommy said. He was wearing some gray pants with a red short sleeved tshirt and a blue hoodie.–

Bubby was wearing a blue waistcoat with a turtle neck, he had the sleeves rolled up and was wearing a black leather jacket, Coomer was wearing a white shirt and on top of it a green waistcoat.

– What about Benrey? –Gordon asked approaching to the group.–

– He'll change when we wake up, for now, we need to destroy the suit for good, any ideas? –Coomer said, grabbing his own hands.–

– Burn it. –Bubby replied.–

– If we do that we'll bring attention from whoever the fuck is out there and that's not really the plan.– Gordon said.–

–We can just break it and burn it somewhere else, it'll be a distraction and they won't know where we are!– Tommy suggested.–

–Sounds like a good idea, I was thinking about that actually.. So, we're doing that, Dr.Coomer, can you do the honors? –Gordon said, now looking back at the HEV suit who was on the floor.–

– Sure!– Coomer happily said walking to the suit and sitting on the floor, taking a deep breathe before start punching the shit out of it, and trying to make sure it was simply unusable, ripping it open using both hands and legs to do this, doing what he could to just make it unrecognizable, and after a few minutes of fighting with a literal suit he did it.–

Thought he still wanted to keep relieving his anger on it, Bubby ended up grabbing the other by the arms trying to keep him away of the suit as he was taking it way too personal and was going to end up doing damage to the house itself if he let him keep going.

– Easy now Dr.Coomer, that's enough.– Bubby said with a frown as he tried to calm him down, but he somehow started growling of anger as he tried to escape.– COOMER. –He screamed, making the other just snap out of it.–

– I'm, I'm sorry Bubby, I couldn't take a hold of myself this time. –He said embarrassed of what he did, blushing a bit because of it.–

– It's okay, I know of your issues, now, let's go outside and leave the rest for me, Coomer you're coming with me, I know a place, meanwhile you guys stay here, we'll come back in a while. –Bubby said as Coomer put the rests of the suit in a bag, making sure to not leave anything behind that could reveal their real location.–

– See you boys later! –Coomer said going outside and grabbing Bubby by the hand to take him out as well.–

Gordon just sighed sitting now on the floor, Tommy going to the other and sitting next to him, both right next to where Benrey was sleeping, how long did they had to wait now? Probably an eternity since they didn't really had a plan, where to go, what to do, just find a way to blend in and know what's been happening, try to fix the entire situation one way or the other, but even if they tries nothing would go back to normal, they would now have to learn how to live with the entire mess they unleashed.

– Mr.Freeman? –Tommy broke the silence.–

– Yes, Tommy? –Gordon said.–

– Why did this had to happen? –He asked, now hugging his legs.–

– I'm not sure, but, I think it was no one's fault, maybe the machine was already broken and they just went on with it thinking nothing serious would happen and now.. We are being looked for worldwide and there are monsters out there killing people, other than cops of course, I'm just, tired, I want this to stop, I want my memories back. –He replied as he now looked at the roof.–

– I'm sure you'll get them back Mr.Freeman, but now, we need to focus on surviving and nothing else, though that will be hard and now this is matter of life or death, I'm sure we'll make it to a safer and beautiful place! –Tommy said with a little smile on his face, but deep down, it was already known that his hope was vanishing, he didn't knew what to do now that he was outside, his father didn't told him much, he lived in Black Mesa, as well Bubby and Coomer, they were all lost even if it didn't looked like it, they didn't knew what to do with their lifes now.–

– I hope so, maybe a house in the middle of the forest doesn't sounds that bad.. –Gordon replied with a smile.–

They both remained silent for a bit since they didn't had much to talk other than their now old job, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable it was even more peaceful than any other silence, better than sounds of crabs and cars, gunshots and explosions, better than anything, the silence was the one thing that they missed the most without even realizing it.


	3. Are we safe now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benrey is being kept in the darkness, thinking of it as a punishment as Bubby and Coomer use their time to destroy the HEV suit.

A sound resonated through the darkness, like drops of water that fell into even more water, there wasn't a floor, roof or walls, it was just emptiness, darkness, loneliness, you might think, who would live in such miserable and sad place? The ones who can't wake up, who can hear everything but see nothing, who cannot talk, who cannot feel, who cannot move or escape from such empty and lonely place, the one who was forced to be bad by a player choice, who thought that everything was already over.

"This is it."

He thought to himself for hours, and hours, and hours, non stop, that was the only thing he said close to his supposed end, but his voice got quiet once he was defeated, the droplets took the whole place, the one who could do anything, was defeated, he thought to himself.

"I'll be gone forever."

He said, expecting his body to disappear into tiny and painful glitches, but, that never happened, he couldn't feel how he was being carried but he could hear everything about the situation. They were running away, but something was wrong, he could hear them close, really close, almost next to him, then he realized, they were running away from there with him, his body and mind slowly started to hurt, falling to his knees he panted of pain, he wasn't glitching, he had errors all over his body, a code was being rewritten, he could feel it, but he thought he would never feel pain again, but he could feel that, something new was being created, a new line, a whole new universe, a new world. He heard a door being opened, sirens could be heard, then there was the sound of breaking glass, the sound of car doors opening and closing, and then, the car engine started running.

He was confused, extremely confused, why did they took him with them? That wasn't even supposed to happen and yet something told whoever took him that it couldn't end there, but he knew no one that could do that, he couldn't see it, he couldn't see a thing, what was it? Who did it? Who was rewriting his entire code, follow rules, breaking them, how was the world outside? They were outside, he could at least feel that, how was the wind? The real sky? He wished to feel, but even trying enough he couldn't do a thing, where was he? Everything he had was now gone, a foolish mortal, a guy who only wanted his friend back, who got ruined by the ones that called themselves good guys, he just wanted to have friends and be friendly, but he had to be seen as thw one who ruined everything when he wasn't even him, it wasn't his fault, nothing was his fault, he never asked to be a god of some type, but now he was waiting to wake up, face his fate, he was sure that later on he would die anyways, because he felt what everyone felt, there was no going back, if he died there, in that black and horrible hole, he was never going back, he wouldn't be able to say Tommy a last goodbye, to tease Gordon around or talk to Bubby and Coomer, he would die alone there, with no company whatsoever, just him and his horrible screams. He started crying, more droplets could be heard as his tears fell to the water, laying down, wanting to hug himself, he felt like he was in a prison, that it was his punishment for being self aware, for wanting to warn everyone, for wanting his friend back, he only wanted Gordon to remember him and stop being a dick about his feelings once and for all, he was deeply hurt by his words and hated how he scared everyone by being forced to be the bad guy of the story, why was he made like that? What did he do wrong? He only wanted some friends to play with.

As he slowly was losing his hope, he heard the car engine stop, they walked out of the car and then it restarted, he could hear it from far away, then the sound vanished. Footsteps could be heard in the concrete and a door being opened, he couldn't feel how he was placed on the sofa but could hear footsteps all around the house, some voices as well, he was trying to focus and hear them as he tried to stop his crying for good, footstep, voices, three footsteps, but he heard one really close to him, then a voice.

Coomer.

Gordon.

And Tommy.

They saved him? He couldn't believe what he heard, that was impossible, right? Was it Gordon's fault that the code got rewritten? He was the player after all so it would mean a lot if it indeed was because of that, but that meant that the pain was his fault as well, making him feel so many things, pain, sadness, anger, but he knew that it just wasn't him, that wasn't the Gordon he once knew and now he was determined enough to make him remember may it be the easy or the hard way, it wasn't that complicated to transfer memories, but if he did lost most of his abilities it would be hard, unless he was in a different place, he could already notice that it wasn't his average place to be, he didn't wanted to be defenseless in front of everyone, he wantes to fight, get away with it and laugh again, he wanted to hear Gordon laugh and smile at his jokes once again, but, he couldn't find a way to wake up yet, it was harder than he thought, but as he heard they weren't in a hurry, they would stay wherever the fuck they already were as long as the army didn't found their location, but the problem was the GPS that Gordon had on his HEV suit, so as he tries to move, and scream to alarm them, he started hyperventilating, trying to breathe he started feeling sick, he did something he wasn't supposed to do and now he was paying the price, but couldn't help and feel like dying, he felt his body sink into the water slowly, growing desperate and afraid.

He kept sinking slowly like quicksand, more drops could be heard falling, he could only hear a voice talking to him, but his breathing and crying didn't let him hear this voice, he wantes to feel, he wanted to move, see, but the only thing that he could do was hug himself and just cry non stop, was it affecting his real body or only his mental state, he heard talking, screaming, familiar voices, then a door closed, now there was nothing but silence, he wanted to talk, he needed to scream or talk, he wanted a shoulder to cry and feel comfort for at least one more time.

Suddenly he started feeling better, after a lot of minutes of crying and feeling miserable, he was feeling at least a bit better, but he wasn't sure if it was because of the crying or something, until he felt a sweet but weird flavor in his mouth. Medicine? He asked to himself as he touched his lips, someone was taking care of him.

Meanwhile Coomer and Bubby were on their way to burn and burry the suit somewhere really far away from they already were, apparently Bubby already knew where to go since he disposed of the car, but was thinking of a different place since he was sure the military was already looking for them and since it was a big radius, they would take a long time to find a place, avoid being seen by some helicopter, car or someone passing by, they sneaked to the place but decides to just do it in the backyard of a really distant house, Coomer did a hole with a shovel and Bubby left the bag there, now trying to concentrate he backed up with the other old man and slowly started to create fire to throw it at the bag which immediately lit up.

\- Huh, apparently it was flammable. -Bubby said now turning off the fire of his hands and watching the suit burn.-

\- Good job Dr.Bubby, let's go back now, and bring the shovel, we can use it as a weapon.- Coomer said as he turned around but he was stopped by the taller one.-

-We need to wait for a bit, then cover it, and run away, if we leave it like that it'll be more suspicious, we need to loose and confuse them, this'll help, trust me.-Bubby said as he looked at the smaller one.-

They just started at each other in silence for a few seconds until Coomer broke the silence letting out a sigh and looking back at the suit, he could believe him, right? It's not like he was manipulated by the military since he didn't really liked them after they trapped him in his tube again, so why he shouldn't believe him? They have known each other for years, since they were very very young.

\- Alright then, we wait. -Coomer said looking everywhere crossing his arms, he was scared and nervous.-

Meanwhile Bubby was looking at his watch moving his leg a little, until after around a minute he walked to the hole, grabbed the shovel and buried the suit very well, he looked up for a fee seconds and walked away from it.

\- Okay, let's go. -Bubby said going back with Coomer the same way they got there, but they got interrupted mid way when they saw a military car passed by, Bubby realizing it first he grabbed the other by the hand and pulled him closer, hiding both of them from that gap on the fence.-

They remained silent until the car got away enough for them to finally continue their way, Coomer was nervous since he was forgetting which way they needed to go but at least was grateful that his companion knew the way back, but was really scared at that as well, something told him to not believe in him but why would he do that? He believed on his words and everything he said, he knew how sincere and good friend he was enough to goof around together, but this one time, he was extremely paranoid now outside, everything they were doing would affect permanently and maybe realizing that made him more insecure about everyone, who to trust? He didn't knew, but he preferred to not look around it, may it happen what it needed to happen and prevent it from happen again, they all had to stick together, like it or not, try to fix problems and other.

Once they were close, almost five houses away from getting there, they accidentally went for a different way and encounter a house that looked abandoned from even before the accident, so they decided to take a bit of a break there, since it was a place they haven't been and Bubby needed to focus and remember the original way once again.

\- How weird, this house looks like the place Benrey would live in, don't you think? -Coomer said with a little smile as he looked at the back door of the house.-

\- Do you think other employees lived here? You know, the ones that weren't clones and shit? -Bubby asked.-

\- That's a probability and could be really true since it's so close to the facility, it wouldn't surprise me.. You want to go in and check? -Coomer asked looking at the other.-

\- I'm not sure, I don't have a good feeling, someone probably died there, maybe we can go see what is it when we get out of here, cmon, I already remembered. -Bubby replied standing up and grabbing Coomer my the hand, switching backyards and going now the same way to the house they were staying.-

And now that they were finally there they both stared at the door while they held hands, but Bubby when he realized he let go with a little blush, going to open the door as he Coomer stood still there for a few seconds until he reacted and walked in as well, he smiled when he saw everyone was okay and felt nothing but relief, closing the door behind him once they were inside.

\- So, did you guys made it? It took you a while. -Gordon said looking at them as he petted Sunkist who was sleeping on his legs, Tommy fell asleep as well resting his head on the other's shoulder.-

-We got lost for a bit and there are a few military cars out there, but hey, at least the suit is buried now, there's no way they'll find us, be sure about that, or well, at least for now I guess.- Coomer said getting closer to the others and sitting on a chair as Bubby just walked behind him and rested a bit on him.-

\- Don't we need to make a plan about, well, getting out of here, find a way to avoid the military while we run away or something. -Gordon said as he looked at the older ones in a really calm voice to try and not wake up both Sunkist and Tommy.-

\- Fake passports maybe? The problem is we don't really know where to get them since everyone is out of town.- Bubby recommended.-

\- I'm sure we can avoid or fight them but if we do we'll be wanted outside of town and that's not the best thing to do, we won't be able to go outside if we do find a safe place because we'll be looked for everyone 24/7, who knows how the world will be after all of this, I'm scared. -Coomer said looking down and hugging himself.-

Bubby looked at Coomer realizing what was happening and hugged him slightly trying to comfort him, the situation wasn't easy and since now they were mortals it was really difficult to just stay alive with a fatal injury, and if someone got to kill Coomer, he wouldn't be the same again, he really wouldn't be the same again.

\- There has to be a way, right? Even if it's really long, there has to be something but for that, we need a map, and maybe a car, deserts are not the best thing in the world. -Gordon said looking at Sunkist for a few seconds.- But I've been thinking, we can find a way to make a purifier once we do find a place to stay, maybe like that at least close to where we stay there won't be many monsters, or even if we put them in different places, but we need to find a way to make them.-

-We have technology, don't we? We are scientists after all we can do anything, though we can fuck up sometimes, yes, but we can try and make a purifier, if, we get what we need, and at this point I'm sure the army has most of what we need and they really won't use it for good. -Bubby said as he kept hugging Coomer who was trying to stay calm.-

\- They're always up to no good they fucked up my hand! -Gordon said raising his voice a little.-

\- Oh your hand! -Bubby said realizing.-

\- Yeah, is, kinda back, is a robotic hand, works like a normal one, looks like meat but it's only a skin. -Gordon said stopping petting the dog and removing what looked like a synthetic skin glove.- See?-

\- That's actually really cool, I hope you don't lose it again.- Bubby teased with a smile on his face.-

\- Yeah, yeah, really funny. -He replied putting the glove back on.-

Coomer finally calmed down after some minutes and decided to talk, though he was a little bit shaky, he looked at the outside realizing how it was already getting late and ot was close to being night time, so he decided to be quick with his words.

\- I know a way to make a purifier, I have the solution engraved into my mind, I decided to learn it in case something went wrong but I didn't had the time to make a plan and go ahead and purify everything when it just happened, but I don't want to go back to black mesa and spend days trying to find the chamber again. -Coomer said playing a bit with his fingers as he looked down.-

\- You learned that even when you weren't supposed to and said nothing? -Bubby said looking at him, Coomer turned around to see him a bit scared.-

\- Yes? -He replied.-

\- That's my Coomer. -Bubby said hugging him once again making the other laugh a little bit because of that.-

Gordon just smiled as a response taking in consideration what he said, maybe it wasn't going to be as hard as he thought but then again, it was a big deal, if they managed to purify all of the US or create a machine to make the job it would take a really long time, more than they already estimated, though it wasn't something good for them to do something for themselves, but sadly it was even more than they could already manage, and maybe there was just no coming back, but life was going to be hard if it was only the six of them, counting Sunkist, and taking the consideration that probably Gman wouldn't even help them after what they did but Tommy because he was his son.

Gordon suddenly realized how dark it was getting and took a deep breath looking at Tommy and Sunkist, maybe he could carry Tommy to his room but with Sunkist on his legs it would be more difficult than he thought, and he too had to carry Benrey to their room, leaving him downstairs was risky and he still had questions, he hasn't even waken up yet, but he was patient enough, he just wished for him to wake up soon, nothing else.

After a while, it was pure darkness, at least they could see something since at that point they memorized the rooms and where the steps where, they were doing what they could to not be seen by the military and luckily they've been succeeding lately, after a while of darkness and now Sunkist being awake, Gordon gently took Tommy and stood up when suddenly the lights outside lited up, he feared they already found them but it was just the light poles, still, since they lighted up a lot, they had to be even more careful with windows, he carefully walkes up stairs with Tommy being followed by Sunkist, and when he got to the room he was staying he laid him there tucking him in and went back down stairs, hoping that he didn't woke up because of the creaking woods of the stairs.

\- Gordon? Will we do guard tonight? -Coomer asked as he looked at him go downstairs, they were all hiding in the dark to avoid being seen by the outside.-

\- I could stay awake for a few hours but I doubt that something happens considering they can't even come in, but we do need to hide the things we stole in the kitchen or somewhere.- Gordon replied as he looked at Benrey.- So we'll do it quickly, because is getting really late, let's go.-

Bubby and Coomer rushed to grab the bags and hide them in the Kitchen and Gordon went to grab Benrey being careful that the sheet didn't fell off him, now going upstairs being careful with his steps he went to the room they were staying and laid him on the bed, being careful with his body as he looked at him in the darkness, but he walked downstairs again to go get his helmet and leave it on his side of the bed, to then go to his own side and just sit there as he thought, looking at the wall in the dark. He now had to stay awake even if time just went on really slow and really wished to get some sleep, he was sure nothing would happen, he wanted to be sure of that, they destroyed everything that could make the military find their location, there was simply no way, he wanted to believe that, may nothing bad happen to them, get to have a good life, a better life, better than a kill or be killed kind of life.

Somewhere else, arguing could be heard in the distance, someone was really angry, it was the only voice that could be hear for a while, they were really angry at the fact that their plan failed and that it would be much harder to find the science team than they thought, not that he has ever succeeded on ripping them apart, and even if he got to kill Benrey he kept coming back over and over again, since it came to his knowledge that he was alive, it would be much harder to fight with them if they kept their powers from black mesa, but considering being in the outside they didn't had a second opportunity, he killed one, he killed everyone, no matter how much sacrifices he had to do, he was going to haunt them down and kill them no matter what.

\- Sir, we need to come up with a new plan they've just been leaving distractions, the burning car, the recent one that is the suit, they're both in very different locations but they're nowhere close to there, we've checked everywhere.- A young voice said, some papers could be heard as well.-

\- They might be long gone at this point, should we reinforce the barriers? they have.. "Bubby" who apparently can manipulate and handle fire, that's going to be really hard to manage considering that this man.. "Coomer" has power as well, but we don't know how strong they are, neither do you, captain.- A deep voice said as he sorted some files, grunting could be heard in the background.-

\- Sir, with all my respect, there's no data of "Tommy" either, we're not sure if he has some kind of power or if he's just a normal human being but, he can't be powerless, he grew up in black mesa as well.- The same young voice said.-

There was silence in the room, a gun could be heard being loaded.

Then two shots proceeded.

No one said a thing in the room, the gun was put on the table, and everyone remained silent, then the same man pushed it to the center of the one table, and punched it after doing it.

\- I know perfectly everything about them, Tommy is a secret, that's clearly obvious, but all those powers can be used against them, we just need to find the way to do it. -He said.-

Two things dropping to the floor could be heard and then being dragged, no one stood up, it was other people just grabbing the body's and carrying them away.

\- Give them to the crabs, they'll have something to eat like that. -The voice added.-

(...)

The night passed by really fast, even for Gordon, who couldn't sleep correctly all night, he was way too worried about the military cars passing by and Benrey, he wasn't really confused about he was still unconscious, if all of that really didn't had to happen just like everybody said, then Benrey won't be able to wake up in days, or weeks, or months, there was absolutely no medicine to make him react, but they had to keep him alive in any way possible and maybe medicine wasn't his area, at least he had to learn a bit of it, he trusted himself enough to try and keep Benrey alive, having now human needs, life was about to get even more difficult than they already expected.

The sun was starting to rise, to a whole and new day with, nothing really new in particular just having the need to go buy sustenance and keep taking care of Benrey and be careful to not be caught by the military and of course, avoid dangerous situations and things that could easily kill them, Coomer was probably the first to wake up, maybe he hasn't slept in a comfortable bed in ages but he had to wake up now or never, he looked next to him to see Bubby and let out a little smile, sitting now while he stretched and looked outside, it was really shiny, and a little hot as well, it would've been a good day if it wasn't for the whole apocalypse, and if he ever had a normal life, if he had managed to get out of the facility earlier, he probably would've ran away with Bubby and Tommy as well, but now they were luckily out! But under a horrible circumstance.  
Now looking back, his life was never the best, for any of them, Bubby had to live in a tube for years, and Coomer wasn't even able to visit him the time he was trapped in there, but when they were younger, times were really different, he got married, sadly more than one time, he probably had memories outside of black mesa but he didn't had them now, he just knew the lives he had with their ex wifes and how he was forced into the scientist life but then again, if it wasn't for her again, he wouldn't have met Bubby anyways, but, why black mesa of all places, why did it had to be a place like that? Maybe the money? Probabilities? Or maybe because it was really close to his old house? He wasn't entirely sure why he did it but, one thing was for sure, he was grateful to have Bubby by his side.

They didn't have many years, it something they were conscious about, leaving Tommy alone was their biggest fear, and even if he had Sunkist, they were now part of his life as well, and he was still really young, he had years in front of him, he waa going to be capable to live longer than them, and they were just, slowly getting weaker and weaker, it was a fear they all had, and maybe he actually was sad that it didn't happened much earlier to live a happy and free life, he wanted to feel finally the freedom they were granted, the outside world was beautiful and he would be sad if he never got to enjoy it once again, even if the reality in the present wasn't the best, and probably a lot of people have died as well animals, but he wanted to feel free once again, even if he had to destroy the entire us military to finally have it.

Coomer was just sitting on the bed as he looked at some random point and remembered the old times, smiling slightly as he looked at both of his hands, how many minutes have passed? He didn't knew, he was really distracted by his thoughts about the future and past, the present and his sudden paranoia, his feelings about everyone in the group and what has been happening recently, he was so distracted that he didn't even realized when Bubby woke up, he was trying to sit on the bed when he looked at Coomer once he put on his glasses, being confused at why he was sitting like that, he thought to himself for a few seconds, thinking if he should talk or not but the silence was doing nothing good.

\- Dr. Coomer? -He asked in a lower voice as he looked at him.-

Coomer jumped a bit being scared by that suddenly voice until he realized it was Bubby, so he turned back and smiled slightly.

\- Hello Bubby. -He replied.-

\- Is everything okay? -Bubby asked once again.-

\- Oh, yes of course it is, nothing to worry about. -He replied looking back in front of him.-

Bubby remained silent for a few seconds, moving a bit what Coomer thought would be standing up, until he felt some warms arms wrap around him, and a little kiss on the back of his head, he put both of his hands on the others arms as he closed his eyes and blushed slightly.

\- I really am okay Bubby, there's no need to worry. -He said in a lower voice.-

\- That might be true, but I know you well Coomer, what were you thinking about? -He asked as he put his head on the other's shoulder.-

\- Well.. I was thinking.. Of the past, all we've been through, maybe I'm being a bit paranoid too. -he laughed a bit at his own comment.- But I too thought, of the team, how we are so close to the end, the present.. -He added, realizing how Bubby stopped hugging him but he opened his hands, putting them on top of each other, as now Coomer opened his eyes slightly to see their hands together.-

\- Does it.. Worries you? -Bubby asked with his eyes half closed, leaving their hands together as he moved his fingers slightly.-

\- Maybe a little but.. I really thought my time outside would be a lot different than this, I wanted to enjoy my freedom, not run away from the military, but now that we have to live with that, it is kinda fun!.. Just, I had other plans, I wanted.. I wanted a life with you. -Coomer said, whispering the last part as he tried to keep himself together.-

\- Coomer, we can still have that, yeah maybe we're old as fuck but, we can live with that, with the time we have left, we should use it to do what we like the most, kick ass, burn shit down and make things blow up, how about it? -Bubby said with a smile, making Coomer laugh at that comment, resting his head on the other's chest and looking up.-

\- I would love that.-

(...)

The floor stopped acting like quicksand a while ago, his hearing was getting better and he's been calm for a while now, he could hear his own heart beat and was actually impressed that it kept beating normally, and that was a sign that he was still alive. He was a bit sad that gman hasn't made his presence in a while now regarding the situation, what was he going to do? Break the whole game's physics and delete him? They both knew well that it wasn't a good benefit, and would get everyone killed, because if it wasn't for him a lot of thing's wouldn't have happened, and being someone essential, he couldn't be killed or deleted, but at least he knew that what was happening was his punishment, because even if he tried to sleep, everytime he woke up he was still in that dark and empty space.

In the middle of the night, out of no where, he hear Gordon's voice, venting about how it was all his fault, that he didn't had to go to work that day, that they never should've done the experiment, nothing would've been happening if they managed to get a hold of the situation in a better way, or if they never did it at all realizing all the failures it had, he should've reported that earlier, he should've gotten there earlier. He wanted to help him, lend him a hand or a shoulder to cry, but he couldn't even move, say a thing, open his eyes, it still wasn't his time to do it and he was getting desperate again, he wanted to help him, tell him that everything would be alright, be the friend that he couldn't be, make him remember their story, why was it so hard? Why being a god had to be so hard? He didn't even had a way to tell him that he was listening to him there was simply no way, it was like he was in a coma but it really wasn't that he was just, stuck, in a deep dark hole that really might be his punishment, he was having such existential crisis he couldn't really handle the situation without crying, and maybe he acted though and goofy on the outside but inside he was, just a normal dude who wanted his friend and life back.

It was finally morning, or that's what he heard, it's been a day or maybe two since he's been asleep, hearing nothing but noises and maybe sometimes tasting something because of the medicine, but now, he heard nothing, just distant voices, like if he was in a different place, probably a second floor since he heard stairs but at that point he wouldn't be surprised if they buried him from one day to another, but again, apparently Gordon needed him, and he was going to tease enough when he woke up just to bother him but at the same time, he just wanted to give him a hug.

"Maybe I deserve this."

He thought to himself

"I'm an ass"

He laughed.


	4. Making a plan

They were all downstairs with a map in the middle of the room, Tommy managed to go outside alone and grab one, and he too went shopping but only grabbed soda so they had to go again, but now, they were trying to come up with a plan, any sort of plan, something that could get them out of there sooner or later, of course they first had to go for a car, there was a car rental place at the outsides of the city, so they now had to walk even more and would be more complicated when they had Benrey with them and unconscious, so the plan was almost simple, grab a big car, get some food, and maybe they could hide somewhere in the desert for the night without having problems with the military but again, it would be easy to be spotted by a helicopter and lose track by the morning, so there always had to be something else, because staying inside a car and doing nothing wasn't a good idea at all, they had to move quickly, and even being really early in the morning they had to do something about it, anything that would come to mind helped, absolutely anything.

\- So we grab a car, right? We need to find weapons as well, there's a store not too far away from here where they probably still have them, we can buy some bulletproof vests as well. -Bubby recommended as he grabbed a marker and did a circle on the store.-

\- Sounds good! Coomer? -Gordon said now looking at the scientist with his arms crossed.-

\- Aside from beating the shit outta people who try to expose us to the military, I've been thinking where we can go, now, we're in new mexico, right? I know a place, maybe hours away but peaceful enough, if we get there and find materials to do the purifier we're close to victory, now, passports are going to be a problem, so we need to create new ones and change our names, clearly not permanently but memorize them for the passports, now, new names! -Coomer said, pointing at Gordon first.- Your name will be Wayne. -Then he pointed at Bubby.- yours Gir. -Then Tommy.- and yours Ben. Now! Any questions? -

Everyone remained silent for a bit, Gordon was looking to the roof trying to memorize well that name and Tommy was doing the same but looking down.

\- What the fuck kind of name is Gir, Coomer. -Bubby asked raising his eyebrow.-

\- Well I didn't had a better plan, and since I barely use my middle name, I will be Harold! -Coomer said with a smile.-

-Good plan we're counting that in, now, Tommy, got something to say buddy? -Gordon asked as he now looked at the mentioned tilting his head to the side a little bit.-

\- Well.. I have Sunkist, we can maybe create some sort of distraction if the army comes for us! But for the way, there's a house a few kilometers at the outside of the town, if it is abandoned we can just stay there but since the desert is really rowdy we might have to fight, that won't be a problem, right? -Tommy said grabbing the marker and circling a tiny spot next to a road, it was were they had to go but it was hours away.-

\- I think we'll still gonna have to sleep in the car eventually, considering the amount of hours it'll take, but going there sounds like a good plan, having somewhere to find and the military doesn't seems to follow is even if we break their shit but I'm sure that if we kill them quickly enough, we're gonna have time to escape before the reinforcements come. -Bubby said leaving the marker on top of the map and crossing his arms as he looked around.- Y'know, fire powers really come in handy.- He added with a smug smile.-

\- Wait, but Benrey? -Tommy asked.-

Everyone remained silent, they didn't thought much about him since they didn't expected him to wake up soon enough, and yes that was selfish of them but they were really distracted with the main plan, they didn't even gave him a fake name and that was just really not them, they always counted everyone but Benrey was down for the moment, still, they had to count him in, they couldn't dispose of him because of the situation, Gordon was in denial and if the military got to kidnap him or find him in some sort of way, they were going to use him against them and that wasn't exactly the plan they wanted to follow, taking in count that Benrey was one of the most powerful beings they knew, and being in the wrong hand wasn't going to help, and Gordon made a promise with himself, he wasn't going to leave him behind, meaning, if they lost Benrey, they lost Gordon as well.

\- Maybe he can go by Josh? -Coomer suggested.-

-Wasnt there a Josh in the facility? -Gordon asked as he looked at Coomer now.-

\- Is good enough, there's a lot of josh's in the entire world, it wouldn't be rare for Benrey to go by Josh, so, he's staying like that. -Bubby said raising one of his eyebrows and looking back at the map.- So, we're going to start the plan today or tomorrow? -He added.-

\- I was thinking we could start tomorrow so today we can get some food and changing clothes, but we have these energy bars as well but we do need some real food, even being instant food. -Coomer said as he stood up going for a bag.- And talking about food! -He said from the kitchen, going back and giving everyone an energy bar.- Eat up, we're gonna need it.-

\- Thank you Dr.Coomer. -Gordon said before opening the bar and taking a bite out of it, they haven't eaten something in a while so that was really helping to satisfy his appetite, and while everyone was trying to eat it as careful as possible to absorb in a better way the energy, Tommy already ate it with three bites.-

And no one realized this until a few minutes after they finished eating their bars, Tommy was just sitting there as Sunkist kissed his cheek, he gave him a little of the bar as well, since he was an immortal dog he could give him anything, except chocolate, and he would be alright. So after they ate the bars, they kept of talking about the plan until they hear a car pass by outside the house they were staying, and everyone remained with their mouths shut until they heard that it was far enough for them to talk, but when they were about to say something, they could hear footsteps, right outside the door, no one said a thing, or let out a breathe, the curtains were closed shut, so everyone tried to stay silent for as long as they could, feeling after a minute how they walked away, now far from the house, Bubby let out a gasp.

They were horribly tense, they didn't planned for it to happen so soon, but if they were so close to their hiding that meant that they were really close to know their location and that wasn't a really good thing to think about when they didn't had a plan about, what to do if they eventually found their location for some sort of way, though they destroyed all evidence, it wouldn't be surprising if they had some sort of satellite view and they were watching the perimeter all the time but they were doing their best to stay away from the sky because of helicopters as well, so they were confused, were they looking everywhere around? It might be that, but they can't just walk into someone's house when they don't know if people would eventually go back, yeah maybe the team shouldn't be there but they didn't cared much about laws.

\- I know maybe you guys forgot about this.. But, when all of this is over, can we rob a bank? -Tommy asked as he petted Sunkist who was now resting on his legs.-

\- Sure! That would be so much fun! -Bubby said in excitement.-

\- We promised to do that don't we? And we're going to do it, I promise. -Gordon said with a smile on his lips.-

Luckily the mood was much better now, still trying to keep their voices down to avoid being heard if someone really was walking outside where they were staying, but that meaning they would have to go outside to buy food late in the night, because apparently around that area they mostly passed through at day and only a few times at night, but that didn't meant they could lay back and go around like nothing like the army wasn't haunting them down, everyone there was smart enough to just not do that, in any circumstances, it was always the avoid being seen rule, in or outside of black mesa.

A few hours passed by and Gordon realized he forgot to give Benrey medicine, but taking in consideration how he's been doing lately that wouldn't be really needed, but he still had to go look for him, so he excused himself, stood up and walked upstairs to go see Benrey, he was still sleeping, letting go a sigh when he realized this, then just sat besides him putting a hand on his head to check his temperature.

\- Well, it seems like you're doing okay, that's good. -Gordon said with a little smile as he checked the other's breathing as well, it seemed like he was okay, but he wasn't sure that he could hear his voice, he was just talking to a sleeping person thinking they would reply or something, he looked stupid talking to him and he knew that really well, he just wished that Benrey really couldn't hear him and that he didn't heard him vent last night, maybe luck wasn't on his side but he wished that.-

After a few minutes he stood up and walked downstairs again, he thought for a few seconds, once he was close to the door that the other moved, and quickly turned around, just to realize he was still in the place as before, looking to the other side with a sad expression, he let out a sigh and walked down the stairs to reunite with the others, sitting with them in that circle as they kept talking, trying to distract himself from his thoughts he tried to continue the conversation, they were still discussing the plan but too other things to pass the time and distract themselves, the apocalypse wasn't the best thing in the world, so that was the only thing they could do so far.

Suddenly, they heard gunshots, screaming and a car crash against a wall, then an explosion, they thought they would be finally safe there, but apparently the crabs ended up following them there, how? They didn't knew, at first they thought it was plan of the military to do that, but they weren't stupid enough to go around and kill each other with monsters from another world, right? Gordon quickly stood up to lock the door, being careful to not be heard by something out there but he was more scares of the army than the crabs being honest, and by their luck, they didn't had too much ammo or guns. Locking everything, they grabbed their bags and the map to go upstairs, maybe waiting for them to go or for them to kill the military so they could kill the crabs with no problems, and of there was a car by any chance, take it as well, then they would be able to finally escape from there even more easily than they thought but again, it was only 3pm and they already were having such problems with crabs, maybe they took way too long but that meant that they had to go now or never to buy their stuff for the trip, the plan now changed.

\- This is baaad! What are we gonna do if there are crabs outside? If we shoot them the military is going to know where we are! -He said hugging some maps they bought.-

\- Fuck and I lost my crowbar! -Gordon said putting both hands on his head as he looked down stairs, everyone was looking downstairs as Coomer was slowly taking out his gun.-

\- There might be one here, we need to look for it after they get far enough from here, they won't be able to feel us here, we need to stay upstairs for a while. -Bubby said as he prepared his hands, but then he realized.- Wait we're fucking dumb we can use my fire and alert no one.-

Everyone remained silent until Tommy decided to laugh at such realization, then Gordon followed and so did everyone upstairs, except Benrey who was still unconscious but could hear them, so he was laughing internally as well, then after a bit everyone stopped laughing except for Coomer, who was wheezing and trying not to fall to his knees due to this realization, It was really easy to make him laugh so he was trying hard enough, Bubbt couldn't stop laughing as well but he tried to keep the other up and not fall down the stairs for the same reason.

\- Oh my god, ah! Okay, we going! And I need to find a crowbar so go first, Tommy, will you stay to take care of Benrey, I kinda need this. -Gordon said looking back at Tommy with a smile.-

\- Sure Mr.Freeman, have fun! -He replied with a sweet and caring smile.-

Bubby, Coomer and Gordon walked downstairs as the two old men kept trying to stop their laughter, Gordon looked everywhere for a crowbar until he realized that there was a basement so he went there and luckily found one, rushing upstairs as he held it excited to finally be able to fight again, now close to the door, with the only sound being the crabs, they unlocked the door and rushed outside, Bubby immediately unlocked his fire and started shooting at them with this as he smiled happily to be able to kill those creatures once again, there were a few military on the floot begging for help but Gordon just decided to hit them with the crowbar, Coomer now saved his gun for later and started punching every crab he saw to death, because that's what he liked to do the most, kill the motherfuckers that took over their world, but of course he saw someone from the military far away that was still alive, scared, he rushed there and jumped quickly on top of them, grabbing them by the vest and punching them hardly against the floor, even cracking it a bit, well it wasn't a problem anymore since he one hit them so he quickly stood up, looked around and then back to help the others fight the crabs off.

After a while of fighting they managed to kill everyone there, but Gordon was sure of turning off the bodies and crabs to avoid suspicion, so it now looked like a car accident because of the crabs and they all burned, and the one in the distance was because he got launched through the window, since it was already broken he didn't had to make sure to break it, good plan, a really good one, now they had to go back in, lock the front door, unlock the back door and sneak to the shop once again to get food, so when theh got home, this time Gordon went with Bubby to get the food, not leaving weapons behind as well, now Coomer was organizing the ammo and guns they got and then walked upstairs to tell Tommy they were back, but when he was about to say something he found him sleeping next to Benrey with Sunkist, he wanted to say something since it was the cutest and sweetest thing he's ever seen in a long while, but he said nothing, he just went up to them and kissed the three of them on the head, giving Sunkist a few pats as well before walking downstairs and hiding the guns in the kitchen with the bags as well, they were so lucky that the light didn't got there way too direct or their stuff would've been already discovered by someone else and they didn't wanted to share that food with someone else other than the group since it was already a lot of them, and yes that was very selfish of them taking in count the way they met each other, but they couldn't add anyone else or they would starve since they already rationed the food enough and luckily they had stores close to them but they were sure that if they stumbled against a gas station, or there would be no one at all or the person there was going to be violent towards them, Coomer kinda knew the attitude of humans in stressful situation, just like wild animals, they kill eachother for some simple and miserable food, and that's how they had to live for now on.

After around an hour, Coomer was sleeping on the sofa when he heard the door open and then close, slowly opening his eyes to watch how Gordon and Bubby had a lot of bags on their hands, being food, clothes or other things, they had the necessary and they made sure it lasted at least a year for them to not worry about it for a while but sadly it just wasn't enough for them, they also bought a bit of dog food for Sunkist so they could be even more careful with food like that since they couldn't really give the dog just any kind of food like Tommy said, they had to ration everything until it all got sorted out even like it or not.

– Dr.Coomer, sorry if we woke you up, we bought a lot of stuff so, better than nothing! –Gordon said putting everything on the table, looking how Coomer stood up to see everything.–

– Good job boys! –He said as he hugged both of them after watching what they bought.– So! If we're lucky enough, we can proceed with the plan tomorrow morning, since we're running out of time and we're compromised, we can't stay here much longer, Bubby and I will go in the morning to go look for a car and the ammo, when we come back were gonna have to do it as quick as possible, let's hope we're lucky enough to not run against any military, how does that sounds? –He said.–

Gordon thought to himself for a few seconds.

–Yeah that's the better thing to do, have you told Tommy yet? –Gordon asked.–

– He's asleep, I'll tell him when he wakes up, so no worries, since there's still some time, we have free time for now, sleep if you want, there's no problems, since we're waking up early tomorrow, we need to have a lot of energy, and luckily, apparently the energy bars really helped! –Coomer replied with a little smile on his lips, enthusiastic about the tomorrow.–

– Yeah, they really have helped a lot I have to say, my fire is even more higher than usual! –Bubby replied.–

–That's really good Dr.Bubby, keep it up! –The other replied.–

Gordon was about to go upstairs when Coomer remembered and stopped him from doing this.

–Oh, Gordon, I forgot, Tommy fell asleep next to Benrey while taking care of him, if you're tired you can sleep on the couch for a bit. –Coomer said.– I hope that doesn't bothers you.–

– Oh, oh I didn't knew, that's okay! I'll just, stay down here. –Gordon said going to the couch and laying there.–

The older let out a little laugh and walked upstairs with Bubby, since they didn't had something to do they all decided to take a nap to preserve energies, but Gordon couldn't really sleep sadly, his mind kept wandering around his memories and the team, he was insecure and afraid about the whole situation, that was going to be his life now, and not that he was complaining about it he was going to be able to meet in depth Benrey when he woke up and he got his memories back, all those moments that as other affirmed he lost, a life outside of black mesa, the one he couldn't really have since his memories were only around the facility, they messed him up, he wanted his humanity back.

He slowly closed his eyes.


	5. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan was now on going, escape from the military and go for a new life.

It was a whole new day, it was going to be really eventful and they all knew that, after they all took the nap, Tommy and Gordon went to their respective rooms and while crossing by he told him about the plan of tomorrow, which he accepted gladly and resumed his walk to his room, now Gordon was looking at Benrey from the door as he walked up to him, laying next to the other as he looked up, after that, they didn't do much that night, just prepare themselves mentally for what was coming. The next morning, they all woke up early, preparing everything so they could run as fast as they could to one, get everything, and two, avoid being seen by the military, because always, no matter the situation, they were extremely lazy no matter what, so, they had some sort of advantage.

Bubby and Coomer did go to get the car but they first got the guns and vest to avoid getting killed easily, then got a big car and quickly drove to the house they were staying, at that point not caring much about the military but caring a lot at the same time, so when they got there, Coomer quickly ran out of the car, opened the front door and screamed that they were ready to go, everyone being awake, Gordon took Benrey's helmet, put it on his friend's head, carefully grabbed him and quickly walked downstairs, going outside as he looked everywhere, then he tried to sit him on one of the seats and rushed back inside helping Tommy and Coomer with the bags as they put them in the back of the car, everything they had they put it there, so they had to be careful if for some reason the military decided to crash their car, maybe they were going to actually do that but Bubby was sure to pick a car that was fast enough to run from them.  
Once they had everything, or well making sure that they had everything they bought the last days, Sunkist was sitting on his owner's lap as he looked outside the window, then Bubby quickly pressed the pedal and drove to the outsides of the city, Coomer was looking everywhere to make sure there were no military, and then took off the map and started looking where they had to go, giving Bubby directions as the tried their best to avoid the military, and once they were reaching the exit of the city, there were soldiers waiting there, but since it was a barricade as weak as the last one Bubby thought he could pass it, sadly, they didn't had the military car just so they could pass like nothing once they were out, but now, they had a car way too weak sadly, so this time, they had to fight like it or not.

They didn't had much problem since yes the car was stolen with it had no pattern so it wouldn't be that easy to be reached, and since they had to change cars anyways after getting to some certain point, there were no problems but something they were sure about was that the closer they got to the center of the city the risky and difficult it would be to blend and pass over all the military that probably were there. Since there was a barricade, Coomer pulled out his gun as he checked the bullets, laying it down and trying to look normal as they approached it but since they already knew, Coomer quickly rolled down the window and started shooting at them, aiming every hit except for one that Bubby simply ran over letting the other finish him off, Coomer too quickly got out of the car and removed the barricade for them to keep moving, going back to the car and smiling realizing that there wasn't going to be barricade in kilometers, finally being able to rest, Bubby kept driving the car, running over some of the military but that wasn't much of a problem so, even if he marked the floor with blood, that didn't really mattered, being far away from the barricade everyone let out a sigh as Tommy rolled slightly down the window to let Sunkist grab some air, the dog tried to stick his head out but realizing that he couldn't do it he only panted as he tried to stick his mouth out.  
Gordon looked at them with a little smile on his face as he looked at Benrey, he couldn't touch his hair now since he gave him back his helmet, but since he was still asleep maybe there wasn't much of a problem but he was scared for his safety, he just wanted to ask him something, he wanted to know if he was okay he needed to know so much and yet, the only place where he could get answers was unavailable, and he didn't even knew when he was going to wake up, taking it count it wasn't going to be soon, he was scared too that when he wakes up he won't remember a thing, or he'll forgot something important or even move, talk or something.

– It's still pretty early.– Coomer broke the silence.– You guys should sleep, we'll be awake looking for the road, if something happens I'll tell you.– He added looking back with a smile, Bubby was really concentrated on the road, everything was desolated and a few bodies could be seen laying around, did the military do that? Or there was something even bigger?–

– Are you sure Dr.Coomer? –Gordon asked now looking up, Coomer could see his tired eyes and let out a sigh.–

– Yes, Gordon, sleep well. –He said looking back at him with compassion for a few seconds, to look in front of the road once again.–

Gordon smiled slightly and laid back closing his eyes as he removed his classes and put them to the side, he was so tired, he couldn't sleep really well again, he was always waking up out of fear, looking outside or at Benrey, waiting for the morning to come, he wasn't energetic like everyone else there he was tired, his eyes were burning actually, maybe sleeping was the best thing to do on a cloudy day. This time he actually managed to fall asleep, he didn't knew what was it but he felt more relaxed than usual now, even knowing really well the risks they were going through, and yet he managed to sleep really well and strangely, even have a dream, but really out of context. He knew he was dreaming, he looked around, and it was all dark and empty, the floor had a water like look, and he started walking nowhere, because he had nowhere to go, he only heard drops falling to the water, but they sounded like they were from everywhere, so he had nothing to see, but he kept on walking, as he looked down, he could see his own reflection, but nothing else, until he heard a muffled voice, at first, he thought Coomer was waking him uo but it wasn't that, it wasn't an old voice, it wasn't Coomer or Bubby, it was a young one, Tommy? No, it wasn't it.. Joshua? Impossible, it was older than Joshua, and he was sure that kid was already taken by the military because of some sort of weird reason, they would never kill a kid.

Was it Benrey? It almost sounded like him, he started walking to where he heard the voice, walking, and walking, until he thought he saw someone, so he started running, and running, but as much as he saw the person, he didn't seemed to be getting closer. He kept on running, getting desperate how he was only being pulled back, he was waking up, but before doing this, he screamed.

– BENREY! –

Then he woke up, he looked around really confused and let out a sigh as he stretched and put his glasses back on, they were still on the road and the sun was setting, that was concerning considering he still had to sleep at night, Tommy and Sunkist were sleeping, he looked at Benrey to make sure he was okay and of course he was still sleeping, it was making him sad, he already forgot of the dream so he had nothing to think, but as he looked at him he slowly caressed the other's cheek, he still looked tired after all those hours of sleep but he knew well that he wasn't really resting, even if he tried to, he was still going to look like that, he carefully cleaned his eyes, being really careful to not hurt him and then he left him alone, now looking outside, everything looked the same but with the light of the sunset it looked different and really nice he really wasn't going to deny it, but that meant that they were gonna have to stop somewhere if the didn't reached the house in time.

He realized Coomer was sleeping as well so he remained silent as he looked outside, maybe he could talk about something with Bubby so he didn't fell asleep but he didn't wanted to distract him with something and crash the car by accident, so he kept looking outside how the sun was setting as he waited for the others to just wake up or that Bubby realized he woke up, one of the two, it didn't bothered him, time was going faster after all from his point of view and a road trip was making him nostalgic for no reason, He's never seen that road before even if he was from there, then why? It was making him have an existential crisis, how he had so much memories but could remember none of them, it was messing with his being entirely and was tired of it, he wanted for Benrey to wake up, maybe if he wished enough it would come true, he thought as he looked at the sky, he saw a few stars after the clouds cleared a bit and felt nostalgic again, those stars, the same he saw back at black mesa. Suddenly Bubby yawned as he slightly looked back, Coomer was starting to wake up as he stretched and looked around then the map, and then the road.

– It's.. Really late, should we stop? –Coomer asked in a relaxed voice as he looked at the other.–

– How long till we get there? –Bubby asked as he looked at the road, he was tired he wasn't going to lie, it was way too many hours and he was getting old.–

– According to my calculations.. Around four hours. –Coomer replied as he looked at the map.–

Bubby remained silent for a bit, thinking to himself about the time but he was now slowly pulling over and stopping the car, now everything was dark, so he turned on the light of the car and looked at Coomer.

– Stopping a little to move our legs doesn't sounds bad, and if someone needs to go to the bathroom better do it now. –He said as he now stepped outside and Coomer followed him, looking around at how there were literally no lights on the road.–

Tommy woke up now that they pulled over and looked at Sunkist, petting him a little while he tried to wake his dog up so he could go outside and move his legs, Gordon looked up and stretched, since he's been in the same position for a while, he needed to move a bit, so he opened the door and slowly walked outside to not perturb the sleep of the eldritch god and step outside to move his legs, Bubby and Coomer were talking and joking around until they got distracted by Gordon walking out of the car, so Coomer approached him first to talk before Bubby did, they both had a smile on their faces while looking at him, Gordon had a moment there, seeing their faces like that reminded him so much of the good old times, when he first got there he was greeted by the two of them, that was something he remembered, though only Coomer actually said his name, Bubby was always reserved so he only learned his name after the failed experiment since it was a matter of life or death, so now looking at them like that just maked him happy in many levels. After having that moment he realized they were talking to him, then snapped back to reality.

– Sorry, y-yes? –Gordon asked smiling slightly.–

– Did you slept well you look really distracted! Anyways, so, we're going to keep going today, but we'll have to rest for a bit here so Bubby can stretch before keep going.– Coomer said grabbing his own hands looking at the younger one.–

– My ass is fucking killing me! –Bubby said as he stretched.– Those were too many hours I deserve a little bit of a break!–

– That's, that's totally okay Bubby, we can wait as long as possible.– Gordon said, looking back at the car when he heard the door open and some steps following their way, it was both Tommy and Sunkist so he smiled at them.– Hey, you woke up! –

– Hello everyone! –He said with Sunkist besides him as he let out a yawn. Looking how everyone but except Benrey were there, he put a hand on his cheek just as he was about to say something.– Shouldn't we eat something? I'm a little hungry. –He said.–

– Well, you're right, we haven't eaten a thing today, that's a good idea, don't you think Dr.Coomer. –Gordon said looking at the older.–

– Sure! –Coomer said, going to the front seat and opening the back of the car so they could take something out to eat.–

– Wait I need to go to the bathroom, but I want some chips! –Tommy said as he walked away to go piss, as Sunkist just sat there and looked at him.–

– Okay! –Bubby screamed as he lookew through bags, taking the chips for Tommy and some dehydrated meat for himself.–

They all took something out to it making sure to leave something of it so they could have later when they finally get to the house, being on feet or not, the map was updated and taking in consideration there was no way they reached that far and it was probable that the military let it go because it looked abandoned, since they seemed to be having the luck of the gods, they were going to be all right. Tommy came back after a minute, he was looking somewhere to wash his hands but since there was no water and it would be a waste, he simply put them on his pockets as he went back to see the others. Bubby gave Tommy his chips, then everyone started eating while they looked at the sky or the emptiness of that desert, it was really cold but it was nothing they couldn't get over with, they've been through worse, a cold night wasn't going to kill them like nothing, and even if things were different, that meant nothing.

After a while they finished eating, so they just put everything back in place, closed the back of the car and started talking to each other about the plan, the what ifs and that if the house already burned down, they were gonna have to sleep in the car, again that was really risky for them to do that, because if they woke up too late they wouldn't had enough time to run from the military, and early was the only way, but taking in count that they didn't had alarms of some sort this time, waking up at an acceptable hour was going to be difficult, plus, they never thought abou a way to hide the car once they got there, and at least it wasn't a busy road now but still, they were scared of being found, though they knew that at the end of the road eventually they would have to fight anyways. After a bit everyone walked inside of the car once again, making themselves comfortable, Bubby rubbed his hands and put them on the wheel as he now started the car once again turning on the lights and off the ones inside and started driving once again, taking in count they only had to wait a few hours to get there, they were going to have a good sleep later if the house wasn't destroyed by the stupid military or others.

– I think when we get there, we'll be safe for a bit, we can hide the car on the back of the house. –Tommy said as he hugged Sunkist.–

–Is there any way we can hide he car with something else as well? I'm pretty sure we'll be recognizable when this car is blue and we're in the middle of thr desert, so, we might need boxes, Tommy do you know if there are boxes there? –Bubby asked.–

– Well, there has to be! –He replied.– Who doesn't has boxes anyways? –He added.–

– You're right, there were even boxes back in the facility so.. It would surprise me if there weren't some. –Gordon said adding himself to thw conversation.–

– Exactly! –Tommy said with a smile as he petted his dog with a smile on his lips.–

Now everyone was silent, looking outside or at the road or just trying to wake up, looking at the stars that now looked closer then never, theh really messed up everything for everyone and it wasn't even a joke, they didn't thought everything would come out so wrong, how many people have died already? How many people have they killed as well? They rejected their humanity the first time they killed someone, and even trying to excuse themselves for what they did, deep down they knew it was the only way to get out of the facility alive, they were sure they were looking for all around the world for killing such alarming amount of people, not wanted to be related to other humans, it was the only way, having to be violent or pacific, probably the whole world knew their faces, it was a risk they had to take for their security, and if Coomer did knew somewhere they could go, the only thing that the could so was trust, being one of the most loyal people in the group, why not trust good old Coomer?

Hours on the road, not really knowing what time it was and not that it was important since they were all adults and shit but they were concerned about how far it would really be, it can't be that Coomer failed his calculations, he eventually turned on the lights to see the map and yeah, they were really close to the place and just as the map said there was nothing, but with further inspection, they realized that there were a lot of buildings and houses on the ground, some of them were almost standing but they all seemed abandoned for a while now, it was making them really confused since the map said nothing about it and it was a road that people frequently passed by, now they were insecure about that place, and Bubby seemed to be loosing his patience. It just can't be down, right? After a hours of being in the car, they looked at the distance the one standing house, though Gordon was getting excited about finally getting there, the others were already expecting the worst of it, the lights were off and that only meant that it was already abandoned, they just wished that someone didn't raid the place.

– Is that a car? –Bubby said trying to look in detail at the house at they quickly got closer to it every second that passed.–

– I think it is.. –Coomer said as he folded the map and put it aside.–

Once they finally got there, Bubby slowly stopped the car, parking right behind the house, turning off the lights, now in the pure darkness of the desert and the vague light of the moon. No one wanted to say a thing, Coomer already had his hand on the gun he was carrying, until after a few minutes, Bubby decided to talk, taking of the keys of the car and putting them on his pocket.

– Here we are, we need to go in, like it or not, if there's someone there? We kill them. –Bubby said, looking outside.– We'll do it at my count, we get out of the car, then we go in front of the house.–

Everyone remained silent, Gordon was already holding Benrey on his arms, waiting for Bubby indications, Sunkist was ready as well and Tommy was just scared as he looked outside paranoid, he was always scared when he didn't had a gun to attack, so he now only had Sunkist to do it while he just backed up and thought of what to do. After a minute, Bubby started counting from three to one, and when he reached one, everyone opened their door and walked out of the car, being careful to not make much sound, they walked to the front of the house, realizing that the car there had two of the windows broken and a few gunshots, but there was no blood, so, whoever got there, they were still alive, and that was concerning. Now, everyone in front of the house, looking at it, Bubby was walking close to the door to open it when a light turned on, the door quickly opened and from one second to another he was being pointed at with a shotgun.

– I have no idea what happened at Black Mesa now leave me the fuck alone!! –A voice said, the person was closing his eyes shut and his hands were shaking, it was noticeable that he wasn't used to much violence.–

Bubby looked with his eyes really open at the other, then slowly make him point the shotgun to the side as he looked at the other, everyone waa just as impressed and confused as him, and it could be seen in their faces, could it be?

– Darnold? –Gordon asked.–

The man immediately opened his eyes and pointed the shotgun down, he had a blank expression for a few seconds until he reacted and his expression lighted up to a happy one.

– The science team! You managed to go out! –Darnold said putting the shotgun aside and hugging Bubby then the others.– I haven't seen you in so long, I thought you guys didn't managed to go out! I'm so happy! –He said as he looked at everyone, they seemed much relieved knowing the one in the house was someone they already knew.– Come in! –He added.–

He quickly walked in and after a few seconds everyone followed, they would stay there for the night or maybe a bit the next day, but now that Darnold was there they didn't had to worry much, having more people that night by their side to scare the military or other people that tried to steal their stuff away, since they didn't really knew what was out there and it was less safe than the neighborhood, it was better to do guard with more than one people taking in care they were in neutral territory. Darnold closed the door behind them once they were all in, rushing to the living room turning off the lights but litting some candles and sitting on a couch, everyone was confused at, how did he had so many things there, how did he escape? They wanted to relax a little about the paranoia but they couldn't help feel insecure, no one wanted to be mean but Bubby was extremely direct from time to time.

– Uh, Darnold? We need to talk to you, and don't get mad or scared, because we're not here to kill you, we're running away, and we're working on a purifier once we get to safety, now, this is not a safe place being so close to a road, that's why we're going away, now sadly, or food is rationed only for us, and we can't take you with us unless you have your own food, now, why I'm saying this? Just to be sure, the military is still following us, even if we've killed a lot of them we didn't whipped them all out, there's a lot of them out there and we can no longer stay here, now, this is the only place we can stay for tonight, Benrey is unconscious and Gordon is horribly paranoic, we have Sunkist who serves almost as a guard dog for Tommy so for tonight, we can protect the house. –He said, sitting next to Darnold who was now looking down.– If you're here you helped to rewrite the code, we can go further than this, and you can do it too, but we won't force you, you have to decide but yourself, but like it or not, you'll have to attack if they get close to you, so don't give up.–

– I've been trying to be strong, I know I'm a coward, you guys saw me back then, but, if they do get to me, I'll try my best to stay alive, I don't really plan staying here for too long anyways but I don't know where to go, can you guys give me recommendations?.. –Darnold asked looking up at everyone.–

Coomer walked to them and sat next to him as well, putting one hand on the other's back as he moved it up and down trying to give him comfort of some sort.

– I've been looking at maps for days, sadly the only places safe enough are probably crowded and weeks away and sadly that's were we're going, but you, you're actually innocent, maybe you can blend with the people evacuating perfectly, you have a whole life in front of you, Darnold, don't worry about it. –Coomer said with a little smile on his lips.–

– Thank you Dr.Coomer. –Darnold replied.– And thanks to all of you, I'll try my best to survive.–He added.–

Tommy smiled and looked around, after a bit Darnold stood up to show everyone where they were staying, since for that night he would be staying at the sofa he didn't had much problems on giving them a comfortable bed to stay, since he was sure they've been through more than him taking in count everything they said back in Black mesa, he was going to try his best to give them a good time there before they had to go their way. Now everyone had their room and Gordon was now putting Benrey on the bed, just looking at him tired and impatient.

– Are you even trying to wake up at this point?.. –He said in a lower voice, letting out a sigh and walking downstairs, where almost everyone was, since Bubby went to the car to get some things to eat for a bit before going to sleep in a bit.–

– So, where are you guys going? –Darnold asked as he looked at the ones that were there.–

– I don't think we can answer you that, we don't want to be followed there.– Coomer replied.–

– You said.. Bubby said you guys were working on a purifier, can I help? –He added.–

– I think we can so that, since the formula can't really be changed to bad without a disaster, you can make a purifier yourself to keep the crabs or whoever wants to attack you away, so why not! But, again, you can't come with us, you can do one yourself, can be hard to get some of the crystals but I know you can do it! –Coomer replied.– Now about the formula.. Give me your hand. –

– My.. Hand? Okay I guess. –Darnold said extending his arm to Coomer, feeling a painful electricity when he was touched by him, he even gasped because of the feeling, and suddenly, the formula was already in his brain.– W-Wait how..–

– One has his secrets my friend! Now, you have everything you need to know, so good luck!–


	6. Bad thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darnold and Gordon need to guard the house at night, but the dark can affect a lot on your thoughts.

Everyone eventually went to sleep, being now only Gordon and Darnold awake for some part of the night, Gordon had his crowbar in hand as he was sitting on the couch and Darnold was looking outside the window with his shotgun in hand, lately nothing has approached the house but he was scared that as the days passed by, the activity of those creatures would increase exponentially, so he barely slept at night, just like Gordon they opened their eyes every few minutes because of some sound and the paranoia of being attacked in their sleep, but they were doing what they could to keep everyone safe. Gordon sitting on the couch, put his crowbar aside and started taking off his glove, moving his fingers a bit, he was still scared by the look of it, and how it wasn't even uncomfortable or painful, and it looked really advanced as well, it scared him how technological it was, you couldn't just compare the machine gun with the new hand, it was just something he couldn't compare with something else, he was still confused at the why of that, could gman actually be nice? No, he was sure he did that by his own benefit and nothing else, but what kind of benefit?

Darnold looked back for a few seconds and realized Gordon's hand, then smiled walking to him and putting the shotgun on the table.

\- I see you got your hand back! Or well, sort of it. -He laughed slightly.-

\- Oh? Oh! Yeah! I just, when we got to the exit after fighting Benrey it was like this, so I put on the glove and it doesn't looks much like it was a robotic hand.. Still thankful for the gun tho, that was fun. -He said, looking down and putting on the glove again.-

\- Well is good to know that you liked the effects of the potion! I was working on some before having to run away from the facility when the military tried to kidnap me.. But hey, everything is okay now! I'm a little sad that I forgot to take some, they would've come in handy though. -Darnold said as he looked directly at the window, the only light there was from the candle, and it gave the house a much scary atmosphere but since he was already used to it, he didn't really cared about that.-

\- Yeah, they really would've helped a lot.. -Gordon said looking at his hand and pulled the sleeve down.-

They remained silent for a bit until Darnold decided to ask something else, something he was actually curious about, since he mentioned fighting with Benrey that meant that the actual villain or antagonist was Benrey, then why did they carried his body with them, wasn't the final battle supposed to end everything? But they decided to go and carry the body of his enemy for no reason? He was curious about it.

\- Uh, Gordon? -Darnold asked.-

\- Yes? -He said.-

\- If you guys, fought with Benrey, why is he with you? Like, is he a bad guy? -Darnold asked as he looked at the other reall curious about the whole group situation.-

\- Well.. We have no idea if he's actually evil or if he did everything because his code told him to, it's kind of my fault too, I rejected the code, grabbed him and ran away with the others, now, that was about two days ago, almost three, he hasn't waken up since, and I'm getting concerned, so, I'll tell you now, if he wakes up and acts violent, please, try to keep him down or tie him with a rope, I have to interrogate him to be sure he's not corrupted or something, that makes me really scared. -He answered the question as he looked at the window.-

\- Well.. I hope he's doing alright and wakes up soon, and, well, that he doesn't comes out of it being an idiot or destroys everything. -Darnold said jokingly laughi slightly but he stopped when he realized how Gordon was genuinely scared on how Benrey's reaction was going to be.- Sorry.

\- It's okay, I've been trying to prepare mentally when the time comes, I just, hope I don't have to kill him again. – Gordon said as he grabbed his own hands tightly and looked now down, then at the other man.– I think you should go to sleep, I'll be here looking around, you need more rest than us. –

– Is it.. Really okay? –Darnold asked and Gordon nodded with a little smile on his face.–

Gordon stood up grabbing the shotgun as he looked outside, Darnold looked at him and then laid down on the couch looking at the roof and slowly closed his eyes trying to relax and maybe try to sleep a bit, so as minutes passed by he slowly started to fall asleep, and when Gordon realized this, he looked for a sheet to cover him with and after tucking him in a bit he grabbed the gun again looking outside, he even walked outside for a bit to look at the perimeter and the sky, they really messed up didn't they? Even being an accident no one would ever forgive them, that was one of the many reasons to run away, and it was a probability that sooner or later they would to a tv report about looking for them or well, putting all the responsibility on Gordon, the whole world's pain was because of him, he was lucky to be strong enough to not fall to his knees and end everything right there, he knew it wasn't only his fault but was scared that people would hate him for running away thinking he did nothing at all to stop it but aince there was no going back and it was responsibility of the science team as well, he just had nothing to say.  
He sat on the floor as he looked up and let out a sigh, he was, tired, being tough was hard and was sure there were already a lot of rumors spreading around about him and his friends, he just wished that information about the clones, tubes and Benrey didn't spread around, because Coomer and Bubby being outside was illegal enough, he really didn't wanted to deal with that shit again, but again, he would eventually have to go to the city, on cover or not, he needed to fix things sooner or later, there had to be some way to free the earth from those creatures, but the time wasn't now, they had a lot of things to do, saving the world would have to wait.

He stood up after a few minutes and walked around the house, everything was so silent, the moon gave so much light to the area but it was really cold at the same time, so after a while he went back in and shaked as he tried to heat himself up rubbing both of his hands together or as he hugged himself, he looked at the clock, they still has hours and hours left to go, closing the door behind him, he walked to the living room and sat on the floor as he looked at the candles, apparently Darnold had a lot of them and that was why he had them or because it was a low source of fire and it was barely noticeable from the outside. Now thinking of it, he was sad that they couldn't be able to bring the guy alone, maybe they knew eachother only for a couple of minutes but he was one of them as well, plus his potions might come in handy eventually but sadly, they didn't have enough space to bring him alone, their plans were based only on them, they never thought that someone else from the facility survived, and believing that Darnold would stay there forever, they never came back, he felt really guilty for not doing so, he looked at the man who was now sleeping and stood up once again, looking at the outside, there was nothing, they were so far away for something to happen yet, even being close to a ghost town, there was nothing, not even wind, it was just really cold and silent, but if he slept, even for a bit, and something happened, he would never, just never forgive himself for doing this.  
An hour passed, and Gordon could hear some steps walking down the stairs, which was making him wake up after accidentally falling asleep, he looked up and saw Tommy as he looked at them and approached him, sitting next to them.

– I couldn't sleep. –He said hugging his legs.–

– Is there something bothering you? –The long haired asked as he looked at Tommy feeling a bit sleepy.–

– Well.. I didn't wanted to say anything but.. My birthday was two days ago, and I haven't seen my dad in a while now, I'm scared that he's angry at me too, but, it wasn't my fault.. –He said in a lower voice as he tried to hide his head.–

– It was your birthday?.. Buddy why didn't you said nothing we could've at least buy you cake. –Gordon said now feeling less sleepy now having heard the news.–

– I'm sorry! I didn't wanted you guys to focus on something else! I didn't wanted to be a bother for the situation, I'm so sorry. –He said slightly looking at Gordon, feeling guilty for playing the silent role in a day that he thought was extremely important for him.– I'm.. Happy that we got out of there with everyone and I didn't wanted to bother when you guys had such a great plan! I just.. I don't know, I don't think I'm that important.–

– Tommy cmon don't say that, you're really important to us you should've at least mentioned it briefly.. I'm so sorry buddy. –Gordon said hugging the other, hug which he received and put his head on the other shoulder.– I promise, once we get to the place we'll throw you a birthday party, how does that sounds? –He said.–

– I would love that.. –Tommy replied with a smile as he broke the hug and looked at the other, until he got scared a bit by hearing moving behind him, it was Darnold, he woke up when he heard all that conversation.– Oh I'm so sorry, I woke you up. –He said turning around to look at the man.–

– It's, it's okay, did I missed something? –Darnold asked waking up, rubbing his closed eye with the back of his hand.–

– It was Tommy's birthday two days ago. –Gordon said.–

– G-Gordon! –Tommy said trying to not be really loud, that his friend said that when he wasn't ready to tell anyone else though it would eventually happen anyways.– Please don't tell the others yet. –He said looking at Darnold.–

– Birthday.. Oh! Yes I knew that, I almost forgot, I actually got a gift for you, wait here, I'll be right back! –Darnold said standing up and running to the kitchen, he actually left somewhere no one would see but a place only he knew, he removed some planks and took the gift from down the floor, covering the hole with planks again, then going back to them and sitting on the floor with them, cleaning the box a bit with the back of his arm, maybe getting the coat dirty but that wasn't much problem now, then he handed it over to Tommy.– Here you go! Actually I memorized the birthday of almost everyone, plus, we've seen each other inside the facility too so.. Maybe I'm a loner, but I can remember some stuff.– He said scratching his neck a bit.–

– Darnold.. You didn't had to. –Tommy said smiling slightly, taking off the paper of the gift to reveal a big black box, to then open it and reveal two necklaces, that even if they looked really simple, they were actually expensive, so he smiled once he saw them and looked back up at Darnold.– Is this what I think it is? –

Darnold went to him and took one of the necklaces from the box, sitting behind Tommy to help him put on his, they had the same design so it was noticeable that it was a matching kind of set. He then sat in front of him, taking the other necklace putting it on as well, the necklaces had a few stars in them, so he smiled watching how both of them had them on now.

– I thought it would be nice from me to give you this, so at least even if we part ways, we can always remember about the each other and well, wish for the best! I thought it would be a good thing to share as friends.. –He said looking at him with a sweet smile on his lips.–

– F-Friends?.. Oh! –Tommy started tearing up, jumping to Darnold to hug him close and close his eyes as he just didn't wanted to let him go.–

– Friends! Of course! –Darnold replied with a smile as he accepted the hug.–

Gordon looked at them smiling, to then look at the box from up close out of pure curiosity realizing how expensive they actually were, he looked back at them just amazed at the dedication of it and chuckled, leaving the box on the couch as he went to the kitchen and looked for something to make,he could make some hot cocoa taking in count that now Tommy was awake as well, so he took out three mugs, cleaned them well and started making the cocoa, since they were common things to have and they stole some of it back in the city, they had all they needed and it wasn't like it was going to ran out one day to another, so after a few minutes he went back with two of the mugs, giving them to Darnold and Tommy who were sitting on the floor while talking, then went back to get his mug and walked back to the others, sitting on the couch as he took a sip of his mug, it's been a while since he last took something like that and for some reason it was really nostalgic for him, he didn't wanted to bother though he had some questions for Darnold regarding the hour, it felt like it was late enough but too early as well, they still had hours to go and now Tommy being friends with Darnold he wasn't going to sleep soon, so he crossed his legs looking at the windows and room as he took another sip of the cocoa.

He kept on drinking his hot cocoa till it was over, taking him at least 10 minutes to do so, he was pretty slow taking in care it was something he probably wouldn't take anymore, looking now at the empty mug he could somehow see his reflection, thinking to himself why the taste of it was so nostalgic now when he barely had memories of his childhood, maybe a bit of university but that really didn't related much to his other memories but fragments of it were still blurry, he knew it was because they messed with his mind, he tried to just not think much about it but it was really disturbing for him, why would he do that? Who did that to him? He simply had no ideas, or suspects, there was nothing at all, and for the science team to know about it but don't know who did thag made everything worse, until he had an idea.

– Uh, guys? A question, did someone knew who the boss was? –Gordon asked looking back at them.– I've been thinking, was he able to do this to me with the help of a different area? –he added.–

Darnold looked back at Gordon with Tommy, both of them seemed to think about something and looked at each other looking for answers or a green light to answer that question, until the Darnold talked.

– Well, we do have a boss, or well used to have, normally we never saw him and when we noticed that he was walking around wasn't a good sign, a week or two before the test, we saw him walking to your area, then we saw you walking away with him, that meant no good, so, yes the responsible of your memories, it's him, about the area we don't really know ot was isolated, they ran experiments on people, even employees and I think, not wanting you to be insecure about the test, they erased your memories. –Darnold said looking at Gordon with a worried and sad expression.– Are you okay? Am I too direct?.. –He added.–

Gordon stood silent for a few seconds, he didn't said a thing, it was like he was freezing there, his body didn't move an inch, not even a bit, he was stuck there, like in pause, he couldn't believe what he heard, so Black Mesa was never really what he thought and yet, that was a more inhuman thing to do than he thought, I mean yes there were times that he couldn't go back home in weeks because of work but still, mind erasing was something he never thought of the facility to do, and to have a shitty boss that does things like that, if he at least knew that earlier, he wouldn't even have signed in for the job, but hey, he was there and finished everything once and for all in the worst way possible without knowing it, and yes he was angry for the failure but happy that at least he made it out and had enough time to get back most of his memories. After a few minutes he came back to his senses and let out a sigh looking down with a hand on his face.

– Mr.Freeman, are you okay? –Tommy asked looking at the younger man really worried.–

– Yes I'm just, thinking.. We really worked in a shitty place didn't we? –He said, still looking down.– Do you think.. Do you think the boss called the military over to kill us? Framed us? Because it wasn't our fault, the machinery was falling apart from before the test and we still had to do it by his orders! –Gordon added, raising his voice a bit because of how frustrated he was feeling about that revelation too.–

– We didn't gained much money, you're right, and even though we did it for the sake research, it was a shitty job, I'm not even going to lie, I was almost living at the facility because I didn't had to pay to stay there, I've been working there for years, you're really young Dr.Freeman, we can still do something about this whole situation and stop it once and for all, and, while we still have time, you might be our own hope, since, taking in count Bubby is the strongest of the group with Coomer, taking in count they're the oldest, I can't guarantee they're– Darnold was stopped by a grunt from Gordon.– Sorry, that, might not be a good theme to talk for you.–

– I simply don't want to think about missing them, they're so fundamental to this group but, I'm afraid something happens to them and have to leave too soon, I know we have Tommy but I don't want something to happen to him, sadly there might be nothing we can do, but, at least we can enjoy this time.– Gordon said, slightly looking up to the two of them.–

– Oh.. That's so sad, I never thought of that! What will we do without them? –Tommy said close to crying as he put the two of his hands on his face looking slightly down.–

–Wait, no Tommy, please don't cry! come here. –Gordon said preoccupied as he looked at him, sitting on the floor in front of him and hugging him.–

The two of them were hugging Tommy as he was trying his best to stay calm and try not to cry in front of them, He's never cried in front of them and it was something that didn't wanted to do at those hours in the morning. But at one point he couldn't handle but start crying in the arms of Gordon, holding to Darnold as well as he just let it all out, he was worried and scared about everything, he didn't wanted to lose his friends, he was scared of his own powers that he didn't really wanted to use them if he really did lose any of them, but sadly he eventually would have to use them, so he would eventually have to train them as well and he was scared of that, maybe no one knew of him and everyone thought he was just self aware, he still had those powers the others had but he was genuinely scared of it and the sake of the others, he knew so much, he was scared to say anything about it, he only wanted to be a normal guy, have some fun while he was outside with friends, he didn't wanted troubles but sadly aging was now a trouble, thought he could talk with Darnold about it since he was the portions guy, he wasn't completely sure.

After a few minutes he managed to stop crying, but now his eyes were red and his breathing was all messed up, he was still holding the two of them, why was he so weak? He was old enough to handle something like that, and yet he was crying like a little baby, trying to be silent and not wake up anyone else, though at that point the only sleeping in that housr were Coomer, Bubby, Sunkist and Benrey. He slowly let both of them go trying to wipe his tears, sniffing and gasping as he tried to calm himself down, why did he had to think of that? Now it was going to be something that wouldn't leave him alone, he needed to do something about it, but he didn't wanted to think or talk about it at the same time.

– P-Please.. I-I don't want to talk about it never again.. –Tommy said, looking at both of them with sadness and fear in his eyes.–

Darnold noticed this and let out a sigh, Gordon felt guilty for continuing that conversation and looked away as he rubbed the back of his neck.

– We won't talk about it ever again, it's okay if you're not ready for that conversation, so let's just, not think about it. –Darnold said holding Tommy's hands softly.–

Tommy smiled slightly and after a few minutes he stood up and went back to the room he was staying to sleep, he had been awake enough, he just knew enough, he wished he could do something in his dreams, come up with some kind of plan but he didn't knew how to control his powers correctly yet, his father never teached him how to use them, not even in the slightly, it was some sort of secret, a weapon, and a big one he could feel it, he always knew he had them but didn't really knew what they did, as he was now starting to fall asleep, hugging his dog Sunkist, he opened his eyes and was now on a totally different place, it looked like a control room, full of screens and codes, he didn't knew where he was, but he was there for only a minute, and then a light woke him up, it was already morning.

Gordon was waking up, since Darnold decided to do guard when Tommy left, and he was tired enough as well for making Tommy think of that, he felt guilty enough for that he needed to rest a bit from that feeling, that wasn't the perfect time to feel guilty and afraid. So he woke up in the morning realizing that they had to go in a bit, he looked at Darnold, he was looking at the sunrise through the window, leaving the shotgun aside, he then realized he was being watched, he looked back and smiled at the man.

– Good morning Dr.Freeman. –Darnold said as he looked at Gordon and opened the curtains a bit, thought it wasn't really recommendable, he was going to stay there only for a bit longer and then leave.– Today is the day, I guess. –He added.–

– It is.. That was an interesting night. –Gordon said sitting on the couch to then stand up and stretch.–

After a few minutes they heard doors opening and steps down the stairs, it was Bubby, Coomer and Tommy, they were talking but Tommy seemed to just remain quiet behind them, he still looked sad but he was happy being close to them anyways, and that was a good thing. Once they were down there, Coomer looked at Gordon with a smile, it seemed like they had a good night sleep.

– Ah! Good morning Gordon! –He said with a smile on his face.– I hope nothing happened last night, I'm a heavy sleeper in a comfortable bed. –He added.–

– Well it was actually really calm, there is nothing out there and there was no steps around the house so we're okay, though, you guys have to leave in a bit, right? –Darnold said looking at everyone from the same place as before.–

– Sadly.. Yeah, we do. –Gordon said looking at his friends for a second and then back at Darnold.– We liked the stay though, and I really hope we can see each other again.–He added with a smile.–

Darnold smiled back as he looked up hearing more steps walking down the stairs, for a few seconds Gordon thought it was Benrey, and he wasn't showing it but of course he was afraid for a few seconds, luckily it was only Sunkist, Tommy smiled when he saw his dog and hold him in his arms like a baby. After a while they were already packing their stuff up and preparing everything for the next step of the journey, they still had a long way too go but at least they weren't that far of civilization, so it wasn't going to be hard avoiding the military.

Gordon walked upstairs to go get Benrey, holding him carefully on his arms and walking downstairs with him, now he couldn't let him go because they were so close to leaving and he didn't wanted to bother more, meanwhile the olders of the group were getting ready, Tommy was talking to Darnold as he petted Sunkist with a smile on his face, they still had their necklaces on and Gordon felt some sort of relief but bad feelings at the same time, though he wasn't going to say something about it, and it was probably just him being paranoid, he was happy of seeing everyone happy and smiling no matter the situation, he was sure that everything was going to be all right not matter what, he was really sure, if he thought otherwise something bad would happen so he had to be positive about it.

After a while, everyone walked outside of the house, except for Tommy, so Gordon turned around and saw how he was saying a last goodbye to Darnold, so he decided to walk to the car with the others and leave them alone.

– Please, please tell me that you'll stay safe. –Tommy said as he looked at Darnold holding him by the cheeks.–

– It'll be okay Tommy, please don't worry, you know nothing has happened to me since I got out, not even a single scratch! It's okay, I know we'll see each other again eventually, now go, they're probably waiting for you. –Darnold said with a smile gently holding the other's hands as he looked at him in the eyes.–

– I'll miss you so much. –Tommy said with a few tears on his eyes to then hug him for a few seconds and then ran out of the house with Sunkist, going to the other in the car, everyone was already insidr and waiting for him so he opened the door and sat in his seat, Sunkist jumping on top of him and now hugged the dog, trying not to cry about the whole situation.–

– We're not missing anything, right? –Bubby asked starting the car.–

Since they weren't missing a thing, Bubby pressed the pedal and he drove back to the road, now driving away from the house they were in, Tommy looked back with a sad expression as he hugged Sunkist, he already missed him and wanted to see him again, he wished nothing to happen to him and that he could stay safe wherever he was going, but he didn't knew well about destiny, he couldn't modify it, since it was already written.

Three days have passed, Benrey is still asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to write this chapter! I didn't knew what else to write but I tried my best to develop more the relationship between Darnold and Tommy


	7. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy keeps remembering the past over the fear of losing his loved ones.

Now almost an hour in the road they could start seeing civilization in the distance, but they were still far away from it and had a long way to go, Tommy was looking outside the window, thinking to himself about everything as he was petting his dog, Gordon was looking outside as well, Benrey sleeping next to him he was starting to get concerned about his health, he couldn't give him the nutrients he needed while that he didn't had serum or something for him to give him or something similar sadly, he still wanted to help him but it was taking way too long for him to do something at that point, he was running out of hope. Coomer meanwhile was looking at the map, knowing the exact location they were in since he marked it once they got to the house, he was now looking for some sort of gas station they could go to once they ran out of gas, since they still had some, but once they got to the more civilization they would have to recharge, and find a place to stay as well, they couldn't be all day and night driving since Bubby didn't had that enough energy, and Coomer was there in case he got over his limits to go on and stop him, maybe that was why he was there, to keep him calmed and not make him overwork himself, and honestly, he didn't mind.  
After a while they got even closer to the place and Coomer heard Bubby grunt, he was looking at the gas indicator, they didn't had a lot since it was a big way, meaning they were gonna have to recharge once they got there and they didn't wanted to do it soon but there was nothing they could do about the gas running out but recharge.

– Do you think there's still be some left at the gas station? –Coomer asked realizing that they were low in that department, looking at his companion concerned.–

– I really hope, or I'm going to look for a truck and steal some from it. –Bubby said looking in front of him with an angry expression on his face, he was getting angry about that since he thought he would still have enough of it once they reached the next place to stay, but looking at it they had less.– I think we have enough until we reach the gas station but I will fucking burn everything down if it's empty. –He said letting out a bit of fire from his head.–

– Calm down Bubby you'll end up burning the car down if you keep getting angry! –Coomer said petting the other's head trying to put that fire out.–

Tommy saw this and laughed slightly, just how Bubby was growling because Coomer was turning off his flame and he was angry enough, he loved to see their interactions and wished to keep seeing that forever, being by their sides as friends and family, he's been with them since he was a little kid, they saw grow, he saw them laugh and fight over the most stupid things, he never saw Bubby really inside the tube and maybe it was because of his memory or just because he was too little, but he knew how much he hated it, since he, well, only appeared them like magic and took him in, no one knew from where Tommy was, not even a bit, and looking at the past, it maybe was something he wanted to remember, if he could.  
He was a little kid, walking around Black Mesa, even through the difficult paths he walked, until he got to a laboratory, there was a big but empty tube, and there was too, Bubby, though he was alone, putting on his lab coat when he turned around and saw the kid, he looked much younger but not much at the same time just, not as old as he was in the actuality, he was already having a few white hairs, even little Tommy could knowledge that he was old. The scientist walked to the child, awfully confused as he sat on the floor in front of him and looked at the kid.

– What are you even doing here? I didn't knew it was the "bring your kid to work" day. –He said slightly tilting his head to the side.–

Tommy sat on the floor as he looked at the old man trying to imitate his doing as he sucked on his finger a bit.

– What's your name? –Bubby asked after sighing.–

– Name's.. Tommy! –He said looking up to the man.–

Bubby looked up for a few seconds trying to remember that name and then looked down again with a tired smile on his lips, he could now see his eyes behind those glasses, he looked tired and a bit angry, but he was sure that was just his resting face.

– Tommy, okay. –He said.– My name is Bubby. –The scientist added, extending his hand a little to him.–

– Bub! –Tommy said.–

Bubby remained silent and grabbed Tommy, holding him in his arms as he walked out of the laboratory through a different direction, it was impossible that a child alone could get inside the facility without their parents but, they never allowed kids inside since it was really risky, and now that he thought about it, maybe looking for the parents wasn't a good idea considering the guards, so as he was about to step out of the lab, he stopped, looking at the closed door, just looking at it not caring that the younger was playing with his hair, was he that hateful to put a mere child in danger? He wasn't, but he needed to find a different way. As he was about to open the door, he jumped as he heard a voice behind him and doors open.

– Hello Dr.Bubby! –The voice said.–

Bubby quickly turned around to see Coomer, around the same age as him, they both looked younger compared to the reality, Coomer stood still as he saw the kid on his arms, he had many questions in that exact moment, Bubby fucks? He had a kid? Why was there a kid there? What was that all about? He didn't said much, he didn't said a thing actually he just, stood there, waiting for something to happen or for someone to say something, and at that point Bubby was actually blushing of nervousness, and shaking a bit, thinking that if he didn't moved he wouldn't notice him, until Tommy decided to look at Coomer and extend his little arms to him, and that was when Coomer reacted and walked up to them slowly.

– W-Well I believe I can explain! –Bubby said really nervous.–

Coomer stopped and looked at the man, nodding slowly with his head.

– Look, I just found him, I really don't know how a kid got in here but he really just did! His name is Tommy, someone may have bring him undercover and got lost in here but I really don't know from where he's from or what. –Bubby said nervously, his voice was shaking a bit he didn't wanted Coomer to think he actually was so irresponsible to bring a kid inside or just basically have one.–

– He just walked in like nothing you say? –Coomer asked walking to him once again.– Well I mean at least is better than thinking you fucked some girl without protection.– He said.–

– Coomer please there's a kid here!.. And I would never do that who do you think I am? –Bubby said, handing Tommy to Coomer for him to hold, which he did, and now he was looking at the older man with a curious stare.–

–Oh yes, sorry, and well, I don't really know, Dr.Bubby you can be pretty wild sometimes if I do say so myself! –The other replied with a little smile.– So, what will we do with him? Keep him undercover until he's old enough? We get to raise a kid? Should we give him so food? He must be starving. –

They thought where to take the kid once they were out of the shift or just finished for that day, since they still had a few hours of work they had to come up with a plan, who was going to take care of the child from time to time making sure he was doing work alone and with no other scientist around because they really couldn't trust no one at that point, aside from trust issues, it just wasn't it. Coomer would have to skip that day of the underground black mesa fighting club and since he ran that area, he was gonna have to cancel it entirely only to look for Tommy with Bubby in a mature way, he wasn't going to let a kid run away like nothing after walking in inside one of the most dangerous research facility in the entire state, or well not really dangerous but mysterious and creepy, no kid would walk inside without an adult and since Tommy seemed to be smaller than the normal age a kid would try and go inside, it was a strange situation.

– We could take him to a dunkin donuts, I gotta put a note in the club that it'll be closed today.. Ah I was so excited about today. –Coomer said as he looked down still holding little Tommy in his arms, trying to not drop him.–

– Want me to hold him for you to go do that before break is over? –Bubby asked extending his arms to grab Tommy once again, though he seemed like he didn't wanted to let Coomer go, it was risky for the older to just go with him.– cmon now Tommy, Coomer is busy right now, he'll come back soon yeah? –He added looking at the infant, he slightly nodded.– He's really intelligent! You think we can teach him some of our knowledge?–

– Sounds about right, if you want to be a teacher I guess, you'll always have to start from the bottom. –Coomer said fixing his coat a bit.– Well, we don't have much time, so I'll be right back. –He added walking quickly out of the laboratory.–

Bubby let out a sigh, looking at the kid and sat him on a table as he looked for a board, teach him a few thin was going to be pretty difficult and interesting taking in care he was probably around 3 or 4 years and wasn't very talkative, but he thought he could simply deal with that with not many problems, he wasn't talkative at first as well though he wasn't that small and didn't really had a real name it was a serial code, why did he choose Bubby? That's not of your god damn business. He took a piece of chalk and started writing on the board, though it was basic math and a few basic words for Tommy to say, the little kid was actually paying attention to what the older man was writing, although he got distracted a few times it was clear that he was trying his best to understand, and since Bubby started with really basic math, it wasn't really difficult for the other to understand the man's words, he didn't looked really confused, he was slowly starting to understand how it worked being difficult or not, and so a while passed, Tommy started repeating some words that Bubby was presenting to him almost perfectly, though he got a bit stuck with some other words he tried his best for a good pronunciation since he only knew his name and not many other words, though he talked a bit that was only gibberish, now that he was going to know other words other than boring ones, he was really happy and excited, his eyes could show that.

The man was actually pretty impressed by little Tommy's knowledge about he was saying, and even if he wanted to go further with something even more complicated, he was sure he wouldn't really understand such complicated formulas, so he decided to leave that for another day if they never got to find his dad or someone related to him, meaning that, just like he did in the past, he was gonna have to stay inside the laboratory for a while now, and yes, luckily there were some beds for workers that stay there because of too much research and experiments, because no one said that black mesa was a good place to stay at night, but they did what they could, and it was actually the only thing they could do. After a while, Coomer got back to the laboratory, gasping and panting slightly, he was running from something apparently, and now he was locking the laboratory door manually for no one to come in or out, it was now locked, that made Bubby confused, making him stop with the teaching lessons which made Tommy a little confused as why he stopped, until he looker back and saw Coomer looking back at them.

– Harold? –Bubby asked.–

– I hate to bother since, you were doing something important, but! I, well, you see Black Mesa is pretty big! Right? –He replied as he tried to hide and looked at the door really paranoid.– I think I saw one of my ex wifes and she looked back at me and now she's following me. –He added.–

– That's not something I can really help with at that point. Wait, is this the crazy one? –Bubby now was asking a bit concerned.–

Coomer nodded, making his friend let out a sigh and grabbing Tommy in his arms, they were trapped there, yes, but the person they were talking about was someone that ruined a lot for them because she really couldn't get over Coomer, plus, is the one that basically forced him to become a scientist, and well yes he was pretty intelligent now and then, that wasn't really the dream he wanted to follow, that was why he created the club in the first place, although he won in every round, it was still pretty underground and not really famous around the facility, now, the problem was that she saw him walking out of there, meaning she was now angry and that wasn't the best of things in a day like that. Coomer quickly hid the board once he saw it, he didn't knew well what to do and that wasn't a good thing, he normally came up with things pretty quickly but now with Tommy, she might get the bad idea, but, now that he thought about it, maybe he could risk it all with that, and yeah that wasn't the bad thing, since he was all about risk, he didn't knew what his friend would say.

– Dr.Bubby? I had a crazy idea, but, I need you to follow. –Coomer said turning around to see his friend.– Will you please follow? –He said walking to him holding his own hands as nervousness.–

Bubby looked at him a bit confused and then let Coomer tell him that plan, quickly as they now heard the steps coming closer and closer, and when it was close enough, Coomer started getting nervous, now the other was holding Tommy with one of his hands and holded his friend's hand as he looked at the door and pulled Coomer closer, being way too distracted to say anything, they both got scared when they saw the lady open the door manually, she looked really angry and Coomer was now really scared. She looked at both of them as she panted but after a few seconds her view focused on Coomer, looking at the smaller with her eyes closed and a really scary and angry aura around her, even Bubby was scared, but, he was going to defend his friend.

– Harold! I fucking told you to get your shitty hobby out of the facility! I didn't signed you up for this job for you to mess everything up! –She said walking to them with her fists closed.–

– You're not my mom! Plus! We're not married anymore! Get out! –Coomer exclaimed as he held Bubby's hand firmly and closer.– And I don't need you anymore! You made me get into science I didn't wanted this! So get out!–

– You can't force me to get out! I can easily call the guards and tell them about this whole shit! –She said, she was so focused on Coomer that didn't even really noticed that Bubby was holding Tommy as well until she got even closer to them.–

She looked up to Bubby and Tommy with a disgusted stare, she even growled a bit but stopped when immediately the other started growling back and a bit of fire started to grow on the top of his head, Coomer could too feel his hand getting closer, and when he realized this he looked up and gave him a little push to try and remind him that he could feel when he turned on his fire now that they were touching each other, and luckily, Bubby wasn't angry enough to turn on his fire completely, since he had both Tommy and Coomer close to him, that would be way too risky, and didn't wanted to bring them no harm, but, it was much different from the person that was standing right before them, he held his friend's hand tightly, and when he wanted to say something meany to her face, Coomer spoke up.

– You can't do that! I know everything you've done, and it's no good as well, you're only angry because I found someone better you crazy ass! –He said, he was a little nervous, his leg was shaking a bit and stomping slightly the floor.–

– Oh yeah? And who is she!? –She said in a higher tone as she looked around.–

– Bold of you to assume I would date a woman after you, and you know what? You have him in front of you, right, fucking, now. –Coomer replied as he pulled his friend closer, Bubby knew about what he was going to do and yet he couldn't stop himself from blushing.–

She stared at them, first with an empty and then a disgusted one, if she messed with them she would be known for even more problems than she was already known for, so acting homophobic in front of them would only make things worse, and when she saw Tommy, at first she thought that Coomer got with some girl years ago and was taking care of him, but being on the arms of the other scientist, just told her everything. She grunted and turned around to angrily walk out of the laboratory, closing the doors right behind her as her complains were now barely heard from around the corner, both of them sighed, still looking at that door, they stopped holding their hands, Coomer putting one on his own cheek as he slightly looked to the other way.

– Hah, I guess there's still people that don't accept us.. –Coomer said to himself, of course that being heard, Bubby looked at him confused.–

– Coomer? –Bubby asked.–

– Oh! I'm so sorry, I think I should've told you earlier, we've been friends for years after all. I'm Bisexual! Meaning I love both men and woman. –He said looking at the taller one with a smile on his face, Tommy wanted to be held again, Bubby was so flustered, he immediately gave Coomer the kid with no problems.– Is everything okay? Are you sick? –He added.–

– No I'm just.. I'll support you no matter what Coomer, I hope you find not a crazy person like this one clearly.. Now tell me, you've gotten married with guys and still call them your ex wifes? Are they thay bad? –Bubby said, now going to sit on a chair, so the other followed.–

– Sadly, yes, apparently I don't have really good taste or well, interesting people tend to pick me for some reason, not a problem when we break up tho, but I can't stand encountering them so.. No ring, not anymore. –Coomer said as he sat down next to his friend and raised one of his hands as he held Tommy with his other arm.– No more crazy bitches, I'll live a single life.– He added with a smile on his face.–

– Is that a promise? Because I think I can recall you saying that and then marrying someone the day after. –Bubby said raising an eyebrow.–

– Well.. At least I can try! –Coomer replied a bit nervous, sadly what he said was true, last time he said that, he actually ended up dating someone and it didn't go really well, but that's because he can't keep promises like that, and it wasn't his fault, sometimes he was forced into stuff without even realizing it, not saying that he was easily manipulable, but he sometimes was.–

– Alright then, I'll believe you. –Bubby said looking at the other with a little smile on his face, still a bit insecure about that, he wanted to believe him.–

After a while they both stood up, Bubby remembering he was teaching Tommy some stuff, he went to get the board he was writing everything in and looked at Coomer, who was laughing slightly, but Tommy looked happy to get to learn more since he didn't knew much and his dad barely interacted with him because he was way too busy, and that was one of the reasons he had to leave him there, since he knew some of the scientist there he thought someone he knew would take care of him but instead, Tommy ended up with the "failed clones." And no he wasn't unhappy with that, he was happy actually! Being around them maked him feel secure, since with the other scientist they barely took care of him and now being treated like that made him really happy. Coomer and Bubby were now making their best to explain everything they were writing on the board to the minor, Coomer wanted to go further and explain him what he was working on that was much more advanced to the knowledge of little Tommy so the taller one had to stop hia friend for a bit to calm him down, it wasn't the time yet for a kid to know so much about physics and science in general based in what they are doing there. After a while, a few hours that passed like minutes, a bell rang and they looked up to see the time, they already had to go, and because they weren't as busy as other days that day, they decided to pack everything up and walk out of the facility after getting their stuff and walking to Bubby's car.

Maybe Bubby wasn't the best driver in the world but he knew enough basics to get them to the Dunkin donuts and Coomer's house safe for that night, since they still had to go back to the facility really early in the morning and yeah maybe it wasn't really late since they still could make it to dunkin donuts before it closes but still, maybe it wasn't enough time for Tommy to be able to sleep considering they would have to wake him up to go back to the facility, and yeah maybe leaving the place wasn't going to be hard but what was going to really be was trying to get in tomorrow, some the guards aren't that nice and it depends really much on the luck, they couldn't just hide Tommy in the back of the car, that wasn't safe or good for a kid his size and age! For now, they were thinking about it on the way to Dunkin donuts, talking about a plan out loud, maybe hide him before they got into the facility? That could do, cover him with some blankets on the backseats and hope that the security guard doesn't suspects a thing, they could try to be late as well so they are alone in the train the way inside the facility as well, but they could have to do way too much calculus for that, sadly they had to do it anyways.  
After a while they arrived to the city and stopped at the place, parking the car in the parking lot and walking inside the store to buy the food and just rest for a bit before going to rest. Both Coomer and Bubby asked for some coffee and two donuts each, while Tommy asked them for a strawberry coolatta and a donut, so they gladly gave him what he asked for since they still had money in pocket, then just sat at a table and started talking, the younger of the two started drinking his Coolatta happily as he looked around, but as he blinked, the view of the entire place changed, frozen, time was frozen.

Of course he knew what that meant.   
He saw a man walking inside the store with a briefcase in hand, he didn't ordered anything of course, he just walked up to Tommy and sat besides him as he stared at Coomer and Bubby talk and drink coffee, though now they were pretty much frozen in time, Tommy just stared at the other as he took a sip of his coolatta.

– Is it already time to go? –He asked.–

– Do you want to go? or, are you having fun with them? –The man asked instead.–

Tommy started thinking, as he put the Coolatta on the table and looked at them, they took such good care of him and learned a lot of new stuff, he was going to miss them if he had to go so soon, but he didn't really wanted to go, he wanted to spend more time with them, learning new stuff and things like that, maybe he finally found some new friends, he thought.

– I think.. I think I want to stay with them. –Tommy ended up saying as he took the Coolatta back after thinking, taking a sip with a smile on his lips.–

– You.. Really want that? Hmm, well then, I'll let you stay with the science team, but, I'll be visiting from time to time to check on you.–The man said, grabbing his suitcase back and standing up.– Have fun with your new friends, little Tommy. –He added with a smile as he looked back at his son, and then walked out of the Dunkin Donuts.–

Time resumed.

Bubby and Coomer kept talking like nothing happened as the younger looked at them taking a sip of his drink, taking the donut and taking a bite of it with a little smile on his lips. He was so tired of just having to follow his dad everywhere and keep having to change places all the time, not having enough time to rest or sleep, thia was for the best and knew what he was doing, he wanted to rest, have friends, learn new stuff, and be found exactly what he was looking for, of course it wasn't a way of saying that he didn't liked his dad or something, but he always told him that he had to find sooner or later somewhere to stay.  
After a while of talking, thinking and eating, they turned to see Tommy who looked a bit sleepy but happy luckily, they thought it was a good sign and it was.

– Tommy? We know you don't talk much but, do you know where's your dad? –Coomer asked calmly as he looked at the kid with a sweet smile on his face.–

Tommy thought about it for a few seconds, he couldn't tell them about him, it was the only rule they had, maybe indirectly, mention his presence, but not name or directions, only dad, so it was a difficult question to answer, but maybe he could focus the answer or question somewhere else.

– I'm staying. –Tommy said.–

Bubby and Coomer stared at eachother and then looked at the kid with a little smile on their faces, Coomer nodded and once they finished eating, Tommy stood up to run and hug both of them once they stood up, Bubby laughed a bit as Coomer just slightly stared at his friend and blushed slightly and looked back at Tommy.

– We'll take good care of you! I'm sure you'll be a really intelligent boy, you have the potential I see that, don't know if you'll like Black Mesa but.. –Coomer said scratching his neck a bit.–

– I'll work with you two! –He said as he looked up to them with a smile.–

– Are you sure about that? –Bubby asked raising an eyebrow, the facility could be a rough work place but if Tommy wanted that.–

He nodded with a smile, everything to be close the their grandpas and learn more, that was his only goal, have a good time learning new things, reading books playing games, doing experiments, was that the life he wanted? Yes, being now on code, nothing could stop that run, at least he thought.

Now being back on the present day, they got to the gas station a while ago, but the car stopped before they even got there completely, so Coomer had to go out of the car to push while Tommy didn't realized much of it, zooning out as he looked out of the window and ignored Bubby's complaining screams as he tried, really tried to calm himself down and not burn the car down as he normally would do in that stressful situation, followed by the army and running out of gas? Nightmare material for all of them, luckily Coomer was strong enough to push it along but Gordon still walked out the car to help, maybe pushing it faster? Of course, they had to get there as soon as possible to avoid being seen or something by someone, at that point they were sure there were already papers all around the town with reward for their heads, they hopped that everyone was much distracted with all the creatures invading earth than just a group of dudes and a dog. When they finally got to the gas station was when Tommy just woke up from that flashback, looking around really confused as why his head made him remember so hard that, like a video but just, being forced to look it and being forced to focus so bad on it, he had a theory, or it was his mind just wanting that or of course his dad was messing with him once again knowing he did bad, he didn't wanted to think about that, sometimes he was a really rude man.

He got out of the car to stretch and looked at the mini market there was there, it was abandoned, but somehow, something just wasn't right with it, so he walked up to it, opening the door or well breaking the glass to open the door from the inside, walking slowly inside, he didn't heard a thing, but everything was there, he thought someone already raided it but apparently, they closed before that was possible, still, there was a mess on the floor, some of the snacks were scattered all around, there was even money and some fridges were open, a trap? No, they wouldn't do something so ridiculous. He took a few sodas and snacks and just walked out of there like nothing, he still had a bad feeling about it, they made it so far and maybe that was what he was feeling, code being written and rewritten, just feeling that something wasn't completely right, but everyone seemed okay with it, yet, something was hurting, something wasn't right.

They finally put enough gas in the car and after talking for a bit, they left, continuing their long way to their safe zone.


	8. On the way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benrey has a nightmare.

Driving to the next stop place, everyone remained silent, Tommy looking at the stuff he grabbed and had been hugging since they left the gas station, and Coomer just stared at the map trying to memorize everything, even if his mind was failing him a bit, he had a bit clear, maybe he had to erase some space because of his photographic memory, but that wasn't a problem, or well maybe it was, he had a lot inside that was important to remember, he couldn't just go ahead and delete everything he considered important, that really wasn't the best of moves. In that silence, they heard nothing but the sound of the engine of the car, some papers moving and the food they had in the trunk, they reminded silent as they looked at the sky or just outside, once they got close to a forest or some kind of park, Benrey let out a sound, not a whisper, or a sigh, but like if he was struggling, Bubby was about to stop the car when he heard that sound, Coomer looked scared and anxious, just looking at the road, thinking what happened, everyone inside that car, except for Tommy looked scared, even Sunkist, Gordon even felt him moving a bit but after a few seconds, he stopped moving, returning to that deep sleep state, was it a dream? A nightmare? At least they knew he was conscious or alive inside there but that was still concerning, because if he was struggling, as they could hear, that meant he wasn't doing good.

They just remained silent for a few seconds, almost in shock but scared at the same time, in the middle of a road with an eldritch god that could easily kill them, it wasn't really the best place to be in that second, or a great moment for Benrey to wake up from that deep sleep. After a bit, Coomer decided to talk, his voice was shaking a bit, hands too, what could happen? He didn't knew, even if he now had the permission to use his forbidden science, that wasn't the best time to fight out in the open, they could be easily find out if Benrey jusy decided to change shape or summon his skeletons.

– Maybe.. Maybe he was just having a nightmare. –Coomer said, looking down.–

– I can't ignore that easily, in all these days he hasn't even moved, not even when he had that fever, something is not right, maybe he's trying to wake up? –Gordon said, looking at Benrey who had almost an angry expression, he couldn't see much because of the helmet though, but he didn't wanted to bother him, so he just left him be.–

– If he's trying so bad to wake up, but hasn't succeeded, he might be fighting against something. –Bubby said, looking at the road, Coomer looked at him, he was worried as well.–

Tommy opened his eyes wide as he looked outside, almost feeling that his heart was going to pop out of his chest, yeah, something wasn't right at all, nothing was right because of what happened, and if he kept that going, that would mean his body could start to give in any time now, he had to wake up soon enough, but how? Something was keeping him sleeping, or someone, he thought. He looked at the roof of the car, Sunkist looking worried at his owner, he knew what was going across his mind, the only answer to the situation, the only person outside of the group that could do that without even being present, who could hide in the shadows without being seen, who could get away with it without a single complaint, who else? His dad.

Gman.

Inside that dark place, at first you could only hear sobbing and droplets, a few steps or just a breathing, a heart beat, but now, you could hear Benrey raising his voice, talking out loud, screaming, growling, he was moving more than usual, the reason? Was really obvious, Gman was there, but not to mess with him, even though that was the only and best thing he could do, but inform and maybe annoy him a bit, he had much more power over him, why not tell him the truth? What everyone thinks, what will life be from now on? What he messed up, what he made everyone do, no one was doing okay, rewriting code was making Tommy start feeling that bit of pain he was suppressing, though he had that deactivated for a while now, what was happening was so serious, that he was being affected as well, hit soft spots was what he did better, and yes maybe he wouldn't let something happen to Gordon or Tommy, but he didn't cared about the rest of the science team, less, Benrey.

There were already others who made it out of Black mesa, maybe being people even Gordon didn't knew much about, they were still co-workers, the plan was supposed to be simple, now it really wasn't, it was much harder, being that he wasn't supposed to not interfere with Gordon and the Science team doing, neither Tommy, just let it happen unless they get way too away from the main plan, which they already did but, there was still time for more, and much more to come.  
Benrey was confused at Gman's doing there, he thought he was in a different place, not that he was literally in the same plane as the other being, sadly he couldn't do much, but he kept trying to wake up, being clearly suppressed, he fell to his knees, breathing heavily and growling slightly, almost like some kind of animal, angry he couldn't get out of there, get over it, he couldn't even attack Gman even if he wanted to.

– If you keep doing this, they'll hear you. –The taller said, walking slowly around the other with suitcase in hand, and an angry expression on his face.– they're already scared of you, don't give them more reasons to.. Well, vote you off. –He added, stopping as some point and looking down.–

– What do you want from me? I don't understand! –Benrey exclaimed, looking up to the other powerful being in that empty space.–

– You broke the code, you did already in the past by.. Refusing orders of staying in your place. Now, Mr.Freeman helped you break it twice, with something even worse coming, and you didn't even realized what you were doing. –He stood in his place as he finished saying that, some papers appeared on his hand, then a few folders followed behind, then it started to get full of archives, bookshelfs full of reports.– Want to know from what this is all about? –He added, asking with an angry tone to the younger one. He looked at the papers he already had on his hand.–

Gman paused, looking down at the eldritch god, then letting out a sigh when no reply was given, he was used to it, at least in different timelines, but coming from Benrey, someone that wouldn't even let you speak correctly, was weird, but understandable. The man walked around him again but then stopped in a different spot, leaving the suitcase now floating in the air as he looked at the papers.

– December 1st. That's when you woke up, since then there are been little errors, and yes, you've always had that little personality, your AI was designed like that, only you, but the god complex.. Well, it came with you waking up, knowing from the start you weren't even human or related but, the title of "god" was gained through a different way, hm? Am I wrong? Years ago.. You were making problems since then. –He paused, looking now to a different paper.– Now, to more recent events, as was supposed to be on code, you fought against the science team and lost, you were supposed to die right there, you know that, of course. But, guess who saved you, who broke it. –He said, looking down and dropping the paper on the floor, ending up in front of the other.– You get, what I mean? –

– Well I think I do but I'm about to fall asleep with you talking so slowly. –Benrey said with a smile on his face, yet, it was clearly that he was trying to hide his pain.–

– He saved you, he got you out of there not even with my help, and now, a whole different world is being written as we speak, my employees are.. Angry, and so am I. –The other said, ignoring the words of the younger one and walking off to one of the files.– I'm sure you want to know what is going on out there, and I'll tell you, maybe after this, I'll leave you alone, I think removing your powers of messing with the code is, enough. –He added, taking a file from a box and opening it.– they're headed to a house in the middle of a forest, the location is, unknown, for now. Luckily, they don't know about this but the US Military is no longer looking for them. –He paused, as he re readed a paragraph.– Except for a group.–

– A group?.. Wait, no that can't be, they're all supposed to follow the same rules! Then how! –Benrey started panicking.–

– You know something, do you? You know a lot after all. Anyways we don't know their reasons to cease following orders considering that, well, a war is about to come, by looking at it, and the plans Dr.Coomer has, you're safe, for now. That unless something unexpected happens.. No, I won't interfere in the future unless is necessary, this is your timeline, I shouldn't mess much with it but.. Help. –He finished saying, putting the file back in the box, and as he went to grab his suitcase, the files and boxes slowly started to disappear, he walked to him being now in front of him, they looked at each other with hate deep in their eyes, they didn't liked each other, at all, not even a bit, thinking it would be helpful to have a fellow god helping, that wasn't their thinking, it was just something else to care about.– Well, this is where I say goodbye, for now? Who knows.–

He turned around, slowly walking away from him, still on his knees, Benrey shaked a bit, feeling pure rage in his blood, he could even feel his body just ready to change its shape and just attack, but he couldn't do that, it was difficult to hold yourself back, but taking in care Gman was actually helping him, he should just remain quiet, but now, he had one last question.

– Hold on! You never told me when I'll be able to wake up! –He said, standing up weakly, hugging himself to stop himself from attacking.–

– Wake up?.. Oh, yes, well I'll just say, you still have time, you'll eventually find out. –He said with a smile, walking off to the distance to then disappear, ignoring the other's screams and insults.–

Benrey turned around as he tried not to literally punch an inexistent floor, everytime he walked he didn't felt a thing, it was like if he was floating, it wasn't even water just, something really far away from his normal knowledge, so he just stood there, trying to calm himself down, since his claws were already showing and that was going to take him a while to reverse, since he couldn't change shape much now, coming to his knowledge that if something changed there it changed aa well in the real world, being if he had his claws out, he was already scaring his friends enough, they could leave him behind if he started acting so weird like he was doing in that exact second. Sitting on the floor, he looked at his hands, with a few tears on his eyes, he tried so bad not to cry at the situation, but he wanted to be free, he felt just like he did back when he was cuffed and forced to follow orders because of some stupid code, he wanted to break free, be his own person, not a rotting corpse or sleep forever, wake up again, was something really difficult to do without the ability of interfering or rewriting code, but knowing well if he still had those, he would be hurting all of them, no matter how he did it, how hard he tried to make sure everything was okay when rewriting it, something always went wrong, but it wasn't only his fault, being he wasn't the only one that could do that but being the only that constantly did it for laughs or make everything easy, it was understandable that it was now taken from him but he wished he was more careful with that in the past but it wasn't his fault, he was constantly dying, the own game code didn't wanted to see him alive, no one wanted to see him good and moving, he was seen as a moving mistake, a glitch that begged to be fixed or erased.

He lay down, looking up at the darkness, putting both hands on his stomach as he breathed, in and out, trying to calm himself down, blinking a few times, focusing in one spot, though it was all just darkness and a really empty void, he knew there was something out there. Closing his eyes, breathing slowly, trying to concentrate on the droplets sound, but nothing else, it already felt that it would take a while to be able to wake up, having to do it in a more human or well natural way, he couldn't just break a wall and break free as he did before, now, meditation was his only answer at that point, even if he took hours, or one more day, it was better to wait if it was worth it to get out of that empty and weird space.  
Thinking and thinking, there was strangely noise outside but he could hear the team talking as well, slowly his expression changed to a more relaxed one in the outside, his claws were now almost gone and he kept on breathing like he was before, he could slowly start hearing better what was going on outside of there, he still couldn't feel where he was laying or some of the movement, the sounds were like static, he felt static, and maybe that wasn't normal at all, but after a while of trying, his head started to hurt, he overworked himself, making him open his eyes and try to breathe normally since it got messed up, something was still interfering, no this time wasn't Gman but apparently, his own mind was playing games with him, after all, everyone has his demons, Bemrey wasn't an exception for being a simple god, in fact, he heard those steps again, getting closer, but these were much different, familiar, but not at the same time. What was that?

Going back to reality, they did notice the change in Benrey's hands with the claws, that when they noticed it Bubby quickly pulled over and stopped the car, looking back worried as he could wake up violent or some sort, Coomer was really close to just activate his powers in case something happened but Bubby hold him back, they were both looking back, Sunkist and Tommy didn't said a thing, just stared at the other, looking for any kind of sign that he wasn't going to do anything, they were more calm than usual being Tommy knowing what happened and Sunkist trusting on his owner, Gordon simply stared at Benrey, not moving even a bit, he started at his face and looked at other signs, after a few minutes he realized his facial expression changed, to the same as before, his hands were now back to normal, he let out a sigh with a little smile, he was still worried yes, thinking that he'll be violent and murderous when he wakes up, but at least he could believe that everything was going to be okay, he felt that everything was going to be okay.

– God fucking dammit that gave me the scare of my life. –Bubby said, sighing and relaxing on his sit, Tommy looked out for a few seconds then at Gordon and Benrey, should he tell him? That everything was his father's fault in some point? How dangerous was going to be when he woke up? He wasn't sure.–

Coomer let out a sigh as he put both hands on his face, yeah that gave him the scare of his life, being close to freedom, the least they wanted was fight that demon out in the open, anyone could hear that, it could attract anything since he was a powerful being, and that just wasn't what they wanted, at all, they wanted to just get away from everything, the army and whatever was chasing them.

– Dear god.. –Coomer said to himself, then looking up uncovering his face, then looking back again.– Is it okay now? –He asked.–

– I think so, let's hope really, I don't know his real state but, maybe he's waking up soon? He, seems to be trying, at least. –Gordon replied, looking up to see the older of the group.–

No one said a thing about how Tommy was being so silent or barely affected by the situation, being distracted in other things for the second and Tommy actually being a quiet "kid" in general, it wasn't something really rare since he was really calm with a lot of things, and since no one knew how his self aware state was, they just thought he was like that normally, but in reality, he was trying to think seriously about the situation, knowing who was that was causing that state, but not really knowing how to, or reverse it, or cancel it, Sunkist was just sitting there, not thinking what to do but how to help his owner, he could helo as emotional support as well, being well trained, that was the least he could do actually but, he saw nothing wrong in Tommy, just like the other, he was acting like he would normally and that was, rather confusing. After a few minutes of waiting that nothing happened again, Bubby started the car again and drove back to the road, hopefully, continuing that way without any kind of inconveniences, again, he wanted to force himself and not sleep or stop to stretch since he wanted to be there as soon as possible, yeah maybe he didn't really knew what kind of place it was but he really just wanted to be free from the bullshit of the bed and make that purifier as soon as possible to finally stop killing so many monsters most of the time, thought those last days have been really calm, and that was confusing him a lot as well, he was way too old to keep up with that, and yeah he wanted some action but a little break like that wouldn't hurt him, neither Coomer, since it was the first time they were so far away from Black Mesa, they could already taste that freedom.

An hour passed, they were in silence again, Gordon was almost stuck with his eyes on Benrey, Tommy was looking outside, almost looking for something while he touched his necklace with his free hand, being a bit nervous, he was petting Sunkist as well to calm himself down, meanwhile the dog was taking a little nap on the lap of his owner.

– Hey Coomer? –Bubby said looking at the road, Coomer stopped looking at the map and focused on him with a relaxed expression.–

– Yes? –He replied.–

– Well, I've been thinking, this is the far we've been from Black Mesa, and, well we're going even far from that shit hole, thing is! –Bubby paused for a few seconds, he forgot what he was going to say because of nervousness.–

– Bubby. –Coomer laughed slightly.–

– Sorry.. I've been thinking, what are we gonna do once we manage to find a safe place? The food we have won't be enough for all the years we'll live there, and yes! I know we're not.. Real, in a way, but we still need sustenance. –He continued to say, though he wanted to say something else, he almost whispered the whole "not real" part.–

Coomer thought for himself, that indeed was a good question in a way, he looked at the road as well, putting one hand on his own chin, maybe they would never eat real food again, and he was sure a lot of people thought that the evacuation would be temporary, that the situation wasn't as bad as they thought when that wasn't it, it was matter of life or death, but that meant that there could still be food left behind in near markets unless they decided to stay, but knowing the military, pretty sure they already killed some innocent people because they didn't wanted to evacuate, they wanted to kill them for some reason, even being innocent, the whole incident wasn't really their fault, it was fucked up for a while now, they didn't wanted to run more tests, they went ahead with it, then boom, resonance cascade.

– We could find a way? Maybe not real food but we can always create some, I need to download that data though. –Coomer said, looking back at Bubby, he had an indecisive expression.– What! I've never cheated! I can do it a few times, it's not like it'll kill me. –He said crossing his arms and looking out of the window.– Or well if it does I guess, it would be the only sacrifice.–

– No! –Tommy said, raising his voice when he realized what they were talking about, he didn't wanted his nightmare to come true, he couldn't bring people back from the death, they weren't inside the facility anymore, they were more limited now.– No sacrifices! You guys forget I'm a scientist too right? I know a way, there's no need of death, okay? –He said, his voice was shaky, they could tell he was scared.–

Coomer looked back and Bubby tried as well, knowing well he had to be focused on the road, he looked back for a few seconds a bit concerned for Tommy's reaction, back in the facility he didn't reacted that way, and now that Coomer mentioned a sacrifice though he has done it many times, he didn't liked the idea.

– Tommy? Is everything okay? –Coomer said as he looked back at the other, preoccupied and confused by his reaction, while Gordon looked up to see them without saying a word, just listening.–

– I'm really scared! Okay? If we die we won't come back and I can't stand thinking about losing you guys! I just can't! So please, we'll find a different way, we don't have to sacrifice each other.– He replied, Sunkist started worrying about Tommy, so he looked at his owner and started licking his face and almost trying to hug him to make him calm down, he put his head on his shoulder and started whining a bit.– Sunkist? –

– Tommy, please you need to calm, you want to talk about it once we get to the next stop? –Coomer replied as he looked at both the dog and Tommy.–

Tommy looked up with a few tears on his eyes, to then nod slowly, hugging his dog softly and sobbing a bit, Coomer looked back at the road, looking at Bubby a bit preoccupied, meanwhile Gordon took Benrey on his arms, sitting him on his lap so he could move closer to Tommy and while he hugged the security guard, he put his head on the other's shoulder, thinking he could bring him comfort like that, knowing that wasn't a theme of conversation that the other liked really much, in that context he knew more of Tommy than the olders of the team, not that he could say much, or something to cheer him up, but he just wanted to let him know that he was there for him, maybe not many words than usual, he didn't had some words of wisdom or related, only common knowledge.

– It's okay to cry. –He said as he closed his eyes, staying calm even after feeling how Tommy just started crying in silence as he hugged his dog and covered his mouth to stay silent, resting his head a bit on Gordon as well as he shakes slightly.–

They didn't said a word about it, Bubby and Coomer didn't talked much in the road, until Coomer mentioned a place they could rest for a bit and stretch, and even if Bubby didn't wanted that in any kind of way, they still needed to rest considering it wasn't the best of ideas to be sitting down on the same spot for a whole day or way too many hours, so yeah, Coomer had to almost force or fight with Bubby to do certain things, they were almost like an old married couple, just that they weren't married, and weren't even a couple. After a while they arrived to the place Coomer wanted to stop and stretch, so Bubby pulled over to the side of the road, there was only a mini market there, not even a gas station, it was only that building and nothing else, and of course it was abandoned, just like every other place they've seen so far, houses left behind, even with lights on, it was noticeable that they had to go so suddenly being day or night, of course not really knowing what would happen, they still would left some stuff behind, packing what's "essential" not really knowing that they maybe would never gonna be able to go back to those places ever again. Yes, luckily the science team had a plan, but they didn't really knew if that would work well to the point that they could be able to warp every being that doesn't belongs to that world to their respective universe but that was something way too difficult to do, and unless they had the technology to do it, it would be risky if they teleported the whole earth by accident, besides, back in Black Mesa they used crystals that were extracted from distant places when they got to send people outside, but it was one of those crystals that caused the whole resonance cascade.

Still, they could still do good with those crystals if they got to take one or if they didn't just exploded in front of their faces and got replaced with all those outside creatures too, even if they could still create some from scratch like Coomer had planned with the whole purificator plan, it would take longer too, they knew they would still have to fight head crabs or pepper puppies want it or not, because they were everywhere as well and no one knew what would happen once they got there, if it was already flooded with them or empty or peaceful, because they would eventually get there anyways, so thinking that nothing bad would happen in the way, they had their hopes up.


	9. It's okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Tommy explains Coomer what's been hapening with him, the older helps him to care less about the future but the present, aside from that, Gordon and Bubby have a little chat.

They spent a while there, opening the trunk to get out some food and eat something for once, since in all the way since they got from Darnold's place to the gas station and now there they didn't ate a thing, of course they still had to be careful to not run out of it, knowing well that all those places they've been to and the markets abandoned with luckily still food there, people would eventually come back to grab the food and just, probably fight anyone that tried to touch it because after all, humans are still animals, and very territorial, meaning it wouldn't be a big surprise if they did started fighting against their own species while the enemy attacked them, because of course, they really care more about their own person than others when it comes to food. Bubby and Gordon sat on the trunk as they ate some of the food they got, meanwhile Coomer and Tommy were walking away from them to talk about what happened and just be alone for a bit, Sunkist of course followed, so now it was only the two of them sitting there, clearly their theme of discussion was going to be.. Interesting, considering a lot of things.

Bubby remained silent even knowing they were away, he was looking down as he took a bite of his sandwich and a sip of his soda, since they had plenty of it, eat a sandwich wouldn't kill them, Gordon just finished eating his sandwich and was now staring at the unopened can of soda that he had on his hands, just looking at every detail, reading warnings and what it was made of, of course it was mostly sugar, for some reason they didn't liked the diet ones but he wasn't going to complain about it; he looked at the front and then to Bubby once he realized he was staring at him, they both didn't seemed to have the best mood of all times, but that was because they were just really calm.

\- Is there something wrong? -Gordon asked to the older one.-

Bubby got out of his trance and realized the question, he let out a sigh as he moved his legs a bit and looked down, he put his food aside or well only leaving the soda between his hands, of course something was happening but they both had problems anyways, and since he still had his chaotic spirit just like in Black Mesa because he wasn't going to change with such thing, he thought of a comeback.

\- And you? You've been really quiet lately. -He replied, looking up slightly.-

Gordon tried to avoid looking at him now with a little blush on his face, maybe he was right, he was being way too quiet lately and that wasn't normal of him, he only was like that when he was worried and that wasn't the best when they all knew everything about him from code, even if there were some things that they didn't knew, of course they knew more of his personality than him.

\- I fucking told you, you really don't know how to hide your feelings do you? -Bubby said laughing a bit.

\- And neither do you! -Gordon replied now looking at Bubby and watching him blush with an impressed expression that changed to an angry one but, still blushing.- So I was right.-

Bubby growled a bit as he looked down and took a sip of the soda to calm himself down and not start burning everything since they were really close to trees and being almost in the middle of the forest, so of course he let the older drink as much as he wanted but once he realized, he already drank all of it and the can was almost burning red, he wasn't even crushing it he was just holding it normally but, clearly he didn't liked his implication. He waited a bit to keep on talking to him or ask him more questions regarding that one theme, he wasn't looking well and he thought he knew the reason as why he was acting that way, maybe he was being way too weird about it, but a bit of emotional support to one of the grandpas of the group wasn't the worse idea, though he was pretty sure Bubby was really close to being crazy, or probably was crazy, but he wasn't sure of that, and he probably would anger him by implying that as well, so he didn't said a thing until he was ready to talk.

\- Is it about Coomer? -Gordon asked after a bit.-

Bubby remained silent for a bit.

\- Am I too obvious? -Bubby asked in return chuckling a bit and letting out a sigh.- Not that I'm worried about the whole alien invasion, because we can kill them pretty quickly even with perma death, I'm sure of that! Just, fuck, I've known Coomer for years now, we raised Tommy together as well and yes I'm obvious enough.. but so are you, Gordon, because there's no need to worry about me, Coomer is doing okay, I have enough time, not Benrey to you. -Bubby said, avoiding now the question and looking at the younger.-

\- You're avoiding the question!! God dammit.. But, I guess, you two are doing way better than me and Benrey, I still need to figure things out but I'm scared that it'll have some sort of damage, what if they erased all his past memories? I'll be confused my whole life! -Gordon said, opening the soda and taking a sip trying to calm himself a bit down.-

\- You definitely need more help than me Gordon! And you think I need it more than yourself, I dealt with my problems years ago, we can definitely get over this. But you, you need that help, you graduated not long ago, started working at Black mesa, then boom, they erased your memories, the military took your son, AND you fought with your "ex" best friend to death, think that's normal, it's really not, Freeman. -He replied looking at the front and to the trees, maybe thinking about what Coomer and Tommy were talking about.-

Gordon held his breath for a few seconds and then let out a big sigh as he just gave up and looked down relaxing his body a bit after that, aside from resting his head on his free hand as he looked at the can of soda, he could hear Bubby laugh a bit at his reaction but he said nothing about it, just started thinking how true that actually was, he still had a whole life in front of him with a lot of dreams and Black Mesa decided to mess all of that up and leave him and his friends having to deal with their mistakes and errors, and maybe that was what their life was going to be from now on, aside from maybe helping to start a rebellion and find a way to save the earth in some way, because now that he thought about it, their plan wasn't as elaborated as he thought and considering there were spaceships dropping monsters and other creatures everywhere, they would have to find a way to camouflage the house they were going to live once they got there, maybe that was a plan to talk about on the road as well, so he didn't say a thing about that.

\- Yeah.. Maybe I do need a bit of help, I really wasn't ready for this, not saying only me, because no one was ready.- Gordon said looking at his soda can and taking a sip of it.-

\- We all need a bit of help but, you really need it the most.- Bubby replied.- I really wish I could burn something right now, you made me overthink. -

\- Well I wish I could punch something, I'm tired man.- Gordon replied.-

Meanwhile away from that car Coomer and Tommy were talking, just having a calm conversation about what happened, though the younger raised his voice a few times, with his voice breaking and trying not to cry way too much, he didn't liked to be seen crying, since he was always so happy and cheerful, crying and feeling so bad in times like that could only decrease the feeling of adventure and happiness the group had, with lots of jokes here and there, pranks and others, him being so sad about the future was the worst of it, he knew Coomer for years, it was the best decision to stay, but he thought he could get them to live forever, like his dad, but sadly, "immortality is not something you gain easily."  
Not that Tommy had that immortality, he still hasn't gained it, as his father would say, he still had so much left to do to have it and, he wasn't excited for it, live longer than every other human and being stuck in the same shape forever, no deadly sickness, having to manage the line, cut cords, having to be the employee of his own father for eternity, job he didn't even wanted to take from the first place and yet, by his immortality he was almost forced, his destiny was already written, so was his friend's, but he was going to try his best to protect everyone till the end, and not follow the destiny he was given, part of a revolution, even if he had to stop his own dad, he knew that would hurt, that part of him would be going away with him, but as long as he was with friends, that didn't matter.

\- Tommy, I know being self aware, sucks, because there's no other word for how shitty it is, if you're hurting, you can just come up to us we'll give you comfort, and I know an unforeseeable future is scary in these times but, we need to take in count the present, the time we have now together, because we're all here, right? Maybe Darnold wouldn't come but.. One day, we'll all be together, we need to think positively about this, okay? -Coomer said, putting his hand on the taller's shoulder with a little smile on his face.-

\- I'm so scared.. I'm sorry for acting that way I'm just, god I know I'm old enough to do things by myself but I'm still a bit scared of my dad.. I know he can be a pretty calm guy but can be scary as well, not that I don't like him just, I don't like the future he gave me, I'm supposed to choose by my own! -He replied looking down at the older one with a sad expression.-

\- If you have problems with your dad, if you ever see him again, tell him, that I just want to talk to him. -Coomer replied with a calm smile, that made Tommy laugh a bit knowing it wasn't rare for the other to get into fights with beings more powerful than him, yes Bubby was a clear example of that but so the headcrabs, barnacles and others, because a little fight doesn't hurts anyone, right?- Now now, being serious, I think you really need to have a chat with him about the whole future situation, maybe he'll let you be, who knows. -He added.-

\- Well, at least when he shows up, I have a lot to talk about with him. -Tommy smiled back and hugged Coomer.- Thank you Coomer, I will try my best.-

The older let out a small chuckle and hugged him back, giving him a few pats on the back as he let him continue that for as long as he wanted, since he knew he wasn't doing really well and needed that time to be calm and just not think about the whole situation, he was really sensitive, the minor inconvenience could leave him in the border of a breakdown, there was something he didn't liked, the imminent future, his friends fighting, that being the reason as why he always remained quiet when Gordon and Benrey used to fight, or why he was so uncomfortable when they all reunited, of course apart from being lost and not knowing a few of the new parts of the facility.  
After a few minutes they stopped hugging and after just looking at the view of the place they stopped, they walked back to the car, maybe Tommy had his eyes a bit red because of crying but he looked happy anyways, and that was what it mattered, just a happy Tommy was enough to make that "road trip" a bit less boring.

After that Coomer and Tommy ate some food, aside from giving Sunkist food, water and let the dog walk around freely for a few minutes, they closed the trunk and went back inside the car, after getting comfortable inside, and Coomer organized his maps and other stuff in the front seat, they were all ready and organized, and Bubby started the car to continue their way to the next stop, and of course, that was going to be some abandoned house or a little place they could stay for the night to sleep, because if they weren't able to find something they were forced to sleep in the car, and thag wasn't the best idea considering sleeping like that wasn't really comfortable or the best idea, they were out, they weren't supposed to sleep like that anymore! But a single day wouldn't hurt anybody, right? Yeah maybe that would anger Bubby and would be grumpy all way but, sacrifices must be made. But luckily Coomer already had a place to stay, he looked so much at the map he almost memorized, not much but it was something, so Bubby wouldn't be grumpy on the way the next day and that was good, because no one wanted to steal a new car because Bubby burned it by being angry and just by acting like a grumpy old grandpa, that he should be, but he was way more cooler than that.

\- So, I was thinking, we need to elaborate more our plan, I feel that something bad will happen to be honest, and we need to be ready, for anything. -Gordon said as he looked at the front to Bubby's seat.-

\- What do you have in mind Mr.Freeman? -Tommy asked as he hugged his dog that was licking his face.-

\- Is there any way to make some kind of invisibility device apart from a barrier anti radiation as big to cover more than the perimeter of a house? -Gordon directly asked with a little smile on his face, looking at Tommy and then at Coomer who was now looking back at him.-

\- We're gonna need to stop by a store that sells or haves enough of the materials needed for us to do that, the barrier is possible and very simple I must say, the invisibility one is way more complicated, you see, we still haven't deciphered that, there was this one time we were doing an experiment about it and it exploded, someone was close and turned invisible, he didn't even survived he died just when the explosion set off, right Bubby? -Coomer asked at the end with a smile as he looked at the other, he only replied with a nod for he was focused on thinking about what Gordon wanted to do.-

\- I can help with that! I know how to do that! -Tommy replied with a smile.-

\- Really? Wow! That's really impressive! -Gordon said looking now at the other with a smile on his face.-

\- Thank you Mr.Freeman! Though it will take me a while to do a device like that, and can be a bit tiring, but it'll be worth it, we'll have enough time I'm sure of it, and if not, we can always have a little break and fight again whatever comes on our way! -The other replied with a smile on his face, clearly enthusiastic about what would happen, because he knew he shouldn't be afraid or paranoid, he just had to believe that everything was going to be okay, because he believed that, it was going to be okay, sooner or later, everything would go back to normal.-

\- Now that's the spirit Tommy! Well, seems like we're adding more stuff to the plan! Anyone haves any other idea? Because I really like the idea of beating the shit outta creatures or people or whatever the fuck we encounter, because at this point is stupid for the military to be following us, they have more than us to deal with, they would never go for such a smaller target! Stupid bootlickers, they really can't think shit. -Bubby said as he remembered about the military, getting a bit angry about it but not enough to light up a flame because of that.-

\- To be honest, I think we all think here that bootlickers FUCKING suck! -Coomer said as he looked at Coomer with a smile.-

\- Right Sunkist? -Tommy said looking at his dog, which barked in response, Gordon let out a little laugh realizing where the context of the conversation now went, and let out a little sigh, he felt relief, finally the atmosphere wasn't the worst of the world and Tommy seemed to be happy, so Bubby and Coomer, that gave him a lot of hope, seeing them smile and laugh was exactly was he needed in those moments, so he closed his eyes a bit, feeling tired Since he was thinking too much apparently, and just relaxed.-

They kept on talking about various stuff to distract themselves not realizing that Gordon was falling asleep or just relaxing his eyes a little but falling asleep as well, not that it now meant something for them, like the game paused or something, it just went it's way not caring about the time or if Gordon was online or offline, they still had a few hours until the sunset, nothing was in their way, they could see a few animals walking here and there, of course for a fracture of a second since Bubby actually was driving really fast, not that they cared, they could see animals any other time too without a major problem they thought, and there was always stuff on store, as long as it wasn't expired, so they only had food for around a year and then they would have to find alternatives, but luckily, that would be enough time for them to find a way to create food or some kind of supplement that would bring them enough proteins and vitamims for them to live, at least they would still have the sun anyways, and that was definitely something that could help them creating or planting stuff easily.

Gordon opened his eyes again after a while and looked outside the window trying to analyze a bit of what was going on outside, just trees and a bit of desert on the background, and not that it was a proble, luckily it wasn't that hot outside but, he could see in the sky a few clouds that were really close to covering the sun, and for some reason that gave him a bad feeling, he always enjoyed to be outside, feeling the sun on his skin and just breathe the luckily fresh air, now he was inside a car in an almost week long ride, ignoring the law and looking for a place to stay, and not that a change was the worst thing in the world, but the sun being covered clouds and dense ones didn't gave him good feelings, a storm maybe? He wasn't sure about that, but he just had the feeling that something was coming, something was going to happen, but what? He didn't knew, just something not really good now that he realized, maybe something they couldn't even deal with but, it really wasn't going to help thinking too hard about that, it could end up happening anyways and that just wasn't it, they has to wiah for the best and nothing else but, with Gordon being so anxious and paranoid in silence wasn't the best went they didn't really knew how to help him in that matter, even if he "knew" how to handle it, it just wasn't the best to keep it to yourself in times like that.

After a while of talking everyone ended up quiet, they ran out of theme of conversation and were now or focused on the road or just looking outside like they would normally do, but Gordon had a question so of course thay would break the silence for a little bit, even if that made it uncomfortable in some sort of way, he just wanted to ask, nothing else.

\- Uh, Coomer? Do you know where we are going? -He asked, looking at the front seats.-

\- Of course I do Gordon! We're going to a hotel! Or well, a house that we can stay, I'm sure at this point only travelers stop by and it's been a while we must have enough space to get at least two rooms to spend the night. -Coomer replied with a little smile on his face.- And according to my calculus, we'll be there around 2AM! I hope that's not a problem Dr.Bubby! -He added looking at the other scientist, that was sitting right next to him.-

\- Eh, I guess I'm gonna have to stop and drink a soda at some point for me to not fall asleep. But that's okay, there's no problems. -Bubby replied, already looking kinda tired, but he knew he just had to go on, it was worth it, he would eventually have a comfortable bed to sleep on for hours, so he had to be patient.- Tommy, if you want to, you can sleep, we still have time on the road. -He added.-

\- I'll consider it thanks. -Tommy replied with a smile as he made himself comfortable on that seat and hug his dog, closing his eyes and resting his head on the door of the car.-

Gordon smiled and then sat back looking at the roof and then out, he felt a bit tired he wasn't going to lie about it, but he wanted to keep his eyes open for a little longer, wait for something to happen, just make sure that they were safe before falling asleep or something, because he knew that when it was more peaceful something could happen, being expected or unexpected, good or bad, he just had to be ready for anything, just as he heard when they were back in Black Mesa, prepare for unforseen consequences.

Hours passed and the sun slowly started to set, so Coomer had to fold his maps and leave them aside for now, having no light to be able to see roads or read signs they just had to wait to get to the destination place or wait to see some lights indicating said place, for now, Coomer was just looking outside looking at the sunset that was covered by only a few clouds, but he couldn't see it fully since it ended up covering completely once again, so he let out a sigh as he looked at the road once again and looked briefly to the back, it seemed that everyone was sleeping or well resting, so he smiled softly and looked outside once again, in that roadtrip he felt like the parent trying to have everything under control and make sure that the kids were doing okay, of course it was different now that Benrey was asleep all the time, so things were different without him, now, thinking how it would be with him made him question a lot of things, of course he didn't wanted to judge Benrey in any level because it just wasn't it, they still didn't knew how he was doing or if he was hostile, so they just had to wait, not say a thing about him that he wouldn't like and just not be how Bubby was inside the facility when things went down, with conspiracy theories against Gordon, influenced by the military, luckily they didn't had the last one but the conspiracy wasn't a good thing to just say or think, they just had to wait, be patient, not tie him to the back of the car and wait for him to not wake up like an animal.

Hours passed slower when it was at night, and not that it was exactly something really bad but definitely they didn't enjoy it as much, since they didn't really had a clock for being to the epicenter of the explosion, all their clocks got fucked up and so the communication, so they were going blind with the hour, though Tommy knew a bit of it, he was asleep, and it better to not wake him up considering he has been really stressed and disoriented lately, so it was better for all in the backseat to just, rest.

– Hey, Bubby? –Coomer asked, trying his best to be as quiet as possible, he was looking at his hands.– Does the radio works? –He added, looking up at him.–

– It should, though we're in the middle of nowhere, but I don't know really, let's see.. –Bubby said, lowering the volume first and than turning it on, first station, there was static, second one, static, third one, static, but the fourth one they could only hear voices, a few of them, not really clearly since there was still static, he tried configuring it, he moved it lower, he wanted to try something, suddenly, they could hear the voices, a bit more clearly than the last time, but this was different than a normal radio station.– Interesting. –He said in a lower voice.–

The voices were talking about a plan, not only a plan for sure but the situation of the country as well, one would think that the military and government had protection in their communications, but apparently it was all down and malfunctioning now, probably they thought that no one was in the radius around them and didn't used the protection, but little did they knew the science team was listening to them, loud and clear, Coomer was trying not to laugh at the thought of them being stupid enough that even a person unrelated to all of it could interfere with their communications, and sincerely, it was funny.

After a while of hearing what they were doing, they lost the signal again, letting out a sigh Bubby didn't wanted to give up, so he kept on changing stations and trying configurations until they only had music, and it wasn't really what they wanted, although Coomer was perfectly okay with that, Bubby had a very different temper, he was angry for not being able to know more of the information and it showed, at least the older one could see it on his face, because he just knew him very well from top to bottom, it wasn't rare for the scientist to get upset about something like that, he always wanted to know more and more new information, and when it didn't worked as he planned or thought, he gets upset.

– It's okay Dr.Bubby, the music is perfectly fine, maybe we already got away from the lines and lost signal that's something that usually happens, and I'm not sure we'll have to know their plans once we manage to get away, they won't matter, laws won't matter, nothing will. I mean of course we'll have to care about the headcrabs and whatever is out there but.. You get my point. –Coomer said looking outside as he played with his fingers a bit.–

– Well.. I guess you're right, I'm a little impatient you know that really well, but is always good to know that we'll have the freedom we needed since the start.. And, you mind if I ask something? –Bubby said, asking at the end as he looked at Coomer for a few seconds before looking at the front.–

– Is there something wrong? –Coomer asked back.–

– Well, you've been telling us about this housr we're going, right? From where fo you know that place? How do you know about it? We never went this far when they allowed us to go outside before they implemented the dunkin donuts inside, then how? –He asked.–

– Oh.. I knew you'd ask that eventually, it won't be really hard to explain. So, you know I have clones right? Some of them died, some of them didn't, some managed to escape, and before the resonance cascade, a long time before, one of the clones quit the job and drove away, he went to the city and found someone he loved, someone to live with, so they moved away after getting married, and lived in that house, sadly, the clone died of a strange disease, I.. I felt that happening, you know how I can feel what they feel, sadly, that still works for the ones that are alive or wounded or, being killed. Anyways, the writings of the house passed to me instead of his significant other, they moved away to the big city about a month or two ago, so now the house is ours, and the things are still there, so it'll be good enough for us to stay there, is a nice house, is big actually as I remember, so we'll have enough space there for us to be comfortable, they have a big garage too, we can run our experiments there, that's why we're going there, because is the best place to stay. Away from the city, from the main danger, there's even a nice little river close to it. –Coomer replied with a little smile on his face as he looked down, knowing the memories of his clones truly was a curse, and he managed to deal with the pain once he first felt that clone slowly dying, he felt sick to his stomach as well, his body hurting, although now he was used to it, he still wanted to find a way to disconnect himself from all of them, remove the curse, be free.– Oh sorry, I made it long. –He laughed slightly.–

– That's fine, I'm sorry that you have to feel that, I hope we can help once we get there. –Bubby replied with a slightly sad expression, he didn't liked hearing that Coomer was in pain or just not doing good in general, it was him that lighted up his mood, and now it was his turn to do the same.–

– Thank you Dr.Bubby, I'll wait patiently. –The other said, looking back at his friend and smiling at him, looking at the road while he was still doing this, blushing a bit, but he was really grateful to have a caring group of friends.–

So after that hours passed, Bubby stopped for a bit to stretch and go get a soda to drink on the road and not fall asleep driving the car and crashing and literally killing all of them before getting close to the goal, so after drinking it he felt a bit more up, looking at the road as he tried to concentrate to not let his eyes fall, slowly he started feeling less tired, feeling energetic enough to get to the hotel, but when he looked at Coomer expecting him to be awake, he already fell asleep with his head on the door of the car, as he hugged himself with both of his legs on the seat, simply not sitting correctly, but he looked comfortable like that, and there was no problem with that. The taller one smiled slightly and kept on looking at the road, time luckily was going faster now that he drank that soda, since he put a bit of instant coffee in it and yeah maybe it didn't tasted great, but it wasn't terrible and with that he just had enough, he would sleep like a baby that night if he found a way to tire himself a bit more, and that wasn't going to be really hard, or well maybe a bit, he just had to burn something down in order for him to feel even more tired and sleep well enough to not need that soda the next day to remain awake.  
A while passed and he noticed some lights up front, they finally got to the hotel, he let out a sigh of relief and once he got there, he parked the car on the parking lot and took the keys off after he turned off the engine as well, stretching a bit and then shaking Coomer a bit to wake him up.

– Hey, Coomer, wake up, we're here. –He whispered, being careful to not be too rough when waking him up.–

He slowly started to open his eyes, smacking his lips a bit as he looked around and smiled slightly, looking at Bubby with tired but happy eyes.

– You did it.. I know you could. –Coomer replied.–

Coomer soon looked back and turned on the light, shaking Tommy a bit as Gordon just slowly woke up only with the light, looking around confused as he yawned and scratched his beard a bit, his hair was a mess as well, but that was something be couldn't see just with the glass of the door, so he looked at Coomer once he looked outside noticing the parking lot, and as Tommy slowly woke up, Gordon asked a question.

– We're here already? –He said, as he took off his glasses and put them on again after cleaning them a bit.–

– Yes Gordon, we can go rest now, it doesn't seems full so, we're gonna be okay here. –Coomer replied with a smile as he looked at Bubby and opened the door to walk outside the car, stretching a bit and screaming slightly when doing this, but aside from that he was really happy to be there finally, maybe they could get other than food that wasn't healthy for them.–

After a few minutes Tommy walked out the car holding Sunkist on his arms and Gordon with Benrey, so after Bubby locked the car they walked to the hotel, and once they were in they saw a few people sitting on couches looking at the TV and a receptionist, Coomer walked up there and asked for two rooms as he reached for his wallet, that apparently Gordon wasn't the only one who noticed it magically appeared inside the pocket of the older, but Tommy or Bubby didn't seemed confused, he could see the other people noticing as well but didn't said a thing, and that was rare. They luckily got the two rooms next to each other, so they walked there, not saying a word because they were way too tired, once they got to the rooms, Coomer, Bubby and Tommy got a room with two beds, meanwhile Benrey and Gordon got a room with one bed, so they took their keys and after talking for a bit, they parted ways.

Gordon closed the door behind him once they were in, letting out a sigh as he walked up to the bed and lay Benrey there as he took of his tshirt and walked to the bathroom taking off the band of the ponytail, just letting his hair be as he shaked it a bit, he didn't really smelled well and with water he was tempted to take a shower, and that was what he was going to do actually, because it has been way too long and he was sure the others would take showers as well, as for Benrey, he would have to care about that later. He closed the door of the bathroom and took his clothes off, turning on the water to walk in the shower and take a relaxing shower and just, finally take more care of his hair because being dirty for almost more than a week was killing him slowly. Taking a quick shower he took a towel and tried to take off the excess as much as he could, putting a towel on his head to dry his hair as well, there was some new underwear too there that if he used he would have to pay later so he used that and put on his pants and shirt without major problem, since he thought there wasn't a hair dryer there, he walked to the balcony of the room and just looked out, he could see a few lights in the distance, meaning there were or more houses or they were really close to a city and he was almost sure about that anyways, so that wasn't surprising but concerning, the military followed the masses of people to guide them to the "safety" but he really couldn't believe that, so after a while of looking he walked insidr again and went to the bathroom looking for the hair dryer until he found one, turning it on and taking off the towel to dry it and not get sick on his sleep or something, he looked at himself in the mirror, he haven't done that in a while now, he looked.. Tired, he had a few scars on his neck that he didn't realized about, aside from wounds that were now healed, he had to take off so much off before walking inside the shower, he had to put on a glove to be careful and not mess up his hand, but he had to take off bandaids, bandages, patches and others in order for him to take that shower, and yeah luckily he was healed but he just felt sad.

Once he was done with his hair, he let out a sigh, put the hair dryer back where he found it, then turned off the the lights, walking out as he looked around the room, something was off for some reason, that would be a place that Gman would normally show up to say that he was about to see something unexpected or some sorts, but he was tired, so he turned off the lights, only with the vague moonlight, he walked to the bed to open it and lay down covering himself with the blankets, taking off his glasses and putting them on the night table, then turning around to check on Benrey, maybe he forgot to take off his helmet but not that it would bother him or that something would change, he was way too tired, so after a few minutes, he just fell asleep.

After hours of peaceful dreams and a comfortable sleep, the sun started to rise, Gordon could feel the sun touch his face on a new day, feeling a bit annoyed by it at first, he slowly opened his eyes, he fell asleep looking at Benrey but now.. He just wasn't there, that took him a while to process, a few minutes at least, his mind was just empty until something snapped, he opened his eyes widely as he quickly sat on the bed and looked everywhere, he wasn't there, he stood up, going to the balcony to check, neither there, the bathroom? No, he was nowhere to be seen in that room. He put on his socks and shoes to run out the room, debating if he should get the others or just go ahead and look for him alone, so he did that, he ran around that floor looking for him, and saw nothing, then took the stairs to the lobby, feeling like his heart was about to cease, he wasn't in the lobby either, he was preoccupied, terrified, he felt like crying, his breathing was shaky and so his hands, he felt like about to breakdown, but he still had to look for him, check, just everywhere to be sure everyone was alright. He finally ran to the back of the hotel that directed to some kind of garden, so he quickly opened the door, and there he saw him.

Benrey was standing in the middle of the garden, looking at the sunrise with his helmet on, then he slowly turned around to see Gordon with his hands on the pockets of his pants.

– Oh hey, you're awake. –Benrey said with the typical smile on his face.–


	10. Wake up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Benrey wakes up, and Gordon got really close to a panic attack, he found a way to calm himself down, even with the feeling of surreality, he thought he was okay, until some news got to them.

Gordon stood there, having his distance as he looked at the blurry image of Benrey, maybe he didn't had his glasses on, but he was sure, he wasn't dreaming, or hallucinating, he was awake, safe and sound, not even looking or acting hostile, it was the Benrey before things went down, he could feel that, although the comment he did didn't told him a thing, he was still concerned about the state of his mind or if he still had his memories, he just had so many questions in his head, there was so much he wanted to ask but his body just wasn't moving, he was frozen in place, they didn't said a thing, until Benrey realized that Gordon wasn't going to speak any time soon, so he let out a sigh and walked up to him, that movement made Gordon take a step back, and Benrey stopped, mid way from him, as titled his head confused, he stood on that place, this time looking directly at Gordon as he crossed his arms, his reaction wasn't normal, it was even more weird than his reactions back in the facility, of course to his own opinion. They remained quiet for a few more minutes, Gordon still couldn't speak, it was like if the rats ate his tongue, the other one was still looking at him almost in a way of, "what can I say?" As he put his hand on his chin and just analyzed him for a bit.

– Oh yo, they gave you your hand back, that's cool. –He said with a smile trying to break the silence, directing the attention to the arm, and now realizing that Gordon was distracted, he walked up to him again with a smile.–

– W-W-Wait! Stay back! –Gordon said once he realized that Benrey was getting closer, taking a step and almost in instinct he touched the arm that had the prosthetic.–

– You seem afraid, that's weird, I'm just trying to be friendly bro, what's wrong? –Benrey asked almost in a sad tone as he looked at the taller one.–

– You think it's easy to process this? After all you did!? It's gonna take you a while to get my trust back, that I took care of you while you were sleeping and carried you around.. Doesn't means much, okay!? Just, stay there! I still need to think. –Gordon said turning around and putting both hands on his head, shaking his hair a bit as he tried to calm himself down, he felt like crying, he was scared as well, he just couldn't handle it well, his hands were really shaky, his heart was beating like he just drank an energetic and his head was spinning, he felt like he was about to pass out.–

Benrey stood there, looking at him worried, feeling the impulse of quietly approach him and hug him but, he opted to give him his space, in all that time, they never gave each other a hug, of course that is because they almost hated eachother or well, Gordon did, avoiding him every time he could, and now with that "final battle" he was more than sure that he hated him and was doing that for pity or to be killed again, but if that was the point, why was he there? Why was he standing there right now? Miles away from the facility, safe and sound, with his wounds taken care of, and just, alive? Was it that bad that they wanted to see him suffer? Were they so annoyed and angry with him? Was it that, or they were giving him a second opportunity? To start over, to prove them that he could be better with that extra life, to not make the same mistakes he did in the past, to do better than last time, and maybe this one time, explain himself to Gordon as he tried to do at the end, of course he couldn't do much in front of people and was really anxious about it but now, it was only the two of them, and he really felt guilty for making Gordon so afraid like that.

So this time, in a different way, he slowly walked to him, stopping a few times, checking if he would say something, hearing no words from him, he kept on walking up to him, slowly, until he was close enough even for a hug but, he didn't had enough courage to do that, still, he felt like it was the only good thing he could do for now, maybe touch his back? No, that would scare him away, pull his shirt a bit? That was way too childish for the other to take seriously. So after a few minutes, he softly put his hand on the other's shoulder, of course realizing that he jumped a little and quickly turned around, no walking back, they just stared at eachother, and Benrey opened just his arms to him with a worried expression, Gordon, confused and scared, looked at him up and down, until after thinking for a few minutes about it, he almost jumped to receive that hug, almost pulling him closer as they both fell to the floor to their knees, Gordon at that point was crying, and Benrey, not being able to process completely the situation, gripped onto him as he hid his face on his shoulder, letting him cry all he needed and wanted. No one said a thing about it, they kept on hugging each other without saying a word, nor judging or making jokes about the situation, just two guys way too afraid and anxious to say a thing, that, after a few minutes passed, and the sun was almost already up, Gordon separated from the hug as he sobbed and tried to calm himself down, Benrey was looking up to him worried, almost like a puppy, but he didn't said a word, he just looked at him as gave the other a few pats on the back, and after a while of that, he helped him get up.

– Is better if we go back to the room for now. –Benrey suggested, taking Gordon by the hand and walking with him to the room, waving hi to the receptionist as they walked upstairs, the taller one was still confused, he didn't wanted to make the obvious question but he felt like he had to do that once they got to the room.–

They walked through corridors and upstairs till they got to the room they were staying, luckily the others hasn't waken up yet so they still had time to or explain or just find a way to be sure that they wouldn't freak out about it, once they were outside, Benrey opened the door and let Gordon's hand go, now closing the door behind them, the long haired immediately walked up to the bed and sat there, taking his glasses and putting them on, looking down for a few minutes until he looked up to see him standing there, it felt so real, he looked back down to check his hands, they were still shaking a bit.

– This is a dream, isn't it? –Gordon asked, not wanting to see Benrey to the face with the fear of him distorting or vanishing.–

– It's not. This time is not. At least that what I think, It would be lame that after I tried so hard to wake up, the only thing I achieved was to show up in a dream.. But now I am scared about it. –Benrey replied looking at the wall behind Gordon with a scared expression, a dream? No, he would destroy everything if it was only that.–

Gordon took off the glove of his prosthetic arm, slapping himself on the face a few times, just to be sure that he wasn't dreaming or that nothing was manipulating his mind in some sort of way, luckily, the pain was very real, so he put on the glove again, letting out a sigh as he looked at the other with tired eyes, then turning to look outside from his place, knowing that in a few minutes the others would wake up, he didn't really knew how they were going to come up with an explanation or what to say, since Benrey wasn't talking much about it since there was nothing to explain but it wouldn't surprise him if for some reason they showed being scared of him, but thinking well, very well about it, he was sure that they would react normally and not try to kill him for literally no apparent reason.

Benrey walked off the door and to the balcony, looking outside for a minute to then walk back inside and sit next to the taller one, it was noticeable that he was a bit bored, he didn't had much things to say and barely cared that he managed to get out of a hell hole, not that he was expressive but other people would've reacted differently to that, meanwhile Gordon was still kind of in shock, zooning out as he calmed his breathing and his hands slowly stopped shaking, the other realized how he was stuck in place and looked at it concerned, did he paused the game or something? That way of acting was rare, at least he never saw him do that, but he didn't wanted to shake him or say something since he didn't wanted to run the risk of accidentally scaring him or getting hit by accident as well, so he didn't said a word until he realized he was stuck in place for way too long.

– Yo, you okay? –Benrey asked as he looked at the other and touched his shoulder slightly.–

Gordon then snapped out of it and looked everywhere until he saw Benrey again, but didn't said a word, just looked in front of him once again, this time taking off his glasses and slightly rubbing his eyes aside from cleaning them a bit and putting them on once again, not like it was some kind of idle thing, he was just acting like that because he couldn't believe what was happening, a lot of questions without answer, finally being able to find out what was his past and yet, he was more scared than never.

– You've been acting strange bro, everything okay? –He asked again.–

– Yeah, yeah just.. Reality hit me a bit, that's okay, I'm still trying to process everything, I'm more nervous about what the others will say but uh.. Why don't you go take a shower and I'll try to explain why you're not sleeping when they wake up. –Gordon replied now looking at the other with tired eyes because of the crying from earlier.–

Benrey remained silent for a few seconds and then stood up to walk to the bathroom and close the door behind him.  
The other looked up to the wall again and then stood up after a few minutes, but when he was walking to the balcony to see outside and just breathe for a bit, there was a knock on the door, he forze in place for a few seconds, thinking about what he was going to say or do, so he looked at the door, and when he heard the next knock he let out a sigh and opened the door, trying to fake a smile as he tried to cover the side of the bed that Benrey was supposed to be, although he was really nervous and it showed, Bubby decided to ignore that.

– Tommy is still sleeping, but we're here to tell you that we'll be going for some food downstairs in a few minutes if you want to go as well! Is everything okay? –Coomer said and asked at the end with a smile on his face as he looked at the younger one.–

– Me? Pff, Dr.Coomer I'm doing okay! The bed was really comfortable so I'm still sleepy so that's okay. –Gordon replied, he was more worried with letting Bubby notice.–

And sadly that wasn't his lucky day, after Bubby looked up, almost over Gordon's head, he noticed that the bed was empty, and the water of the bathroom running, he could think of two things, one, Gordon killed Benrey and was letting the blood run on the bathtub, or, the obvious one, he woke up, but realizing that, he opened his eyes widely and stuttered a bit, he couldn't actually believe that, so soon? But it was definitely that, and Gordon was horrible at hiding things so it indeed was it.

– Holy shit. –Bubby said as he looked at the bed.–

Gordon jumped a bit, that took him by surprise, so he looked from Coomer to Bubby then quickly turned around to look at the bed and then back to the two of them, they both looked confused and almost speechless, Coomer wanted to snap out of it and it showed, but a part of him wanted to fight against him, a part of him didn't wanted to believe or follow that Benrey could be any better, but he was a wise and old man, he had to wait, to hear what the other had to say, to reason, because he couldn't be fighting his friends for what they did in the past, he had an explanation and then decide to kick them our or not, so as he tried his best, he looked at Gordon and smiled.

– Well, I guess if you're still alive, that means that Benrey is doing okay. –Coomer said.–

Bubby didn't said a word, he was trying to calm himself internally and trying to take the situation as something good that happened, Benrey waking up meant that the car would be filled with questions instead of the silence they've recently been through, or sleeping or just Coomer being distracted with the maps to find places to stay and alternatives taking in count the integrity of the group, at least that meant that luckily they wouldn't have a dead weight anymore in case something happened, at least they were all able to run if they were chased by something, and of course more help to fight creatures and the law.

– You want me to go get some clothes for him while you take care of him and then we go downstairs to eat? –Coomer asked, still with that smile on his face, he looked calmed, more than Gordon would've expected and that was making him feel less stressed and scared about the whole situation.– We'll be right back! –He added as he grabbed Bubby by the arms and they both walked downstairs, Coomer almost pulling the other to go.–

Gordon closed the door and fell to his knees, almost wheezing and shaking for how scary that was considering thay Bubby didn't said a word about it, basically Coomer had to speak for him and that wasn't a good signal, because a quiet Bubby could mean many things and a fight was the less they wanted on a road trip, considering too that, he was the one who was driving the car, and almost none of them knew how to drive a car correctly without crashing it against a tree or wall after pressing the pedal. He stood up, helping himself with the wall as he put a hand on his chest and tried to control his breathing for a bit, he was getting scared easily now, Benrey was on his nerves and that wasn't a good thing, he really thought that he was ready for when he woke uo, but he wasn't, he was extremely anxious, about what to say, what to ask, and simply not mess up and let that fight and betrayal happen all over again, since they had to be close to each other and avoid inconveniences, fighting whatever was against them, not fight with each other over an eldritch god who just got out of a coma, or well, heavy sleep.

He walked to the bed and lay down, grabbing a pillow and hugging it close and tightly, simply to try and calm himself down as he bites it as well, not ripping it in half or a part of it off, just biting it softly as he thought for himself, hearing everything around him, he closed his eyes once again, he was still tired, almost wanted to fall asleep again, but that scared him too, thinking of dreams, that all of that couldn't be real, but they already did a test! It was 100% real, and they were more than sure about it. After a while, the long haired opened his eyes again once he heard that the water of the shower stopped running, thinking about what to do for a few seconds until he stood up, left the pillow there and just walked up to the door, not with the intention of just walk in knowing very well that his friend was naked, he was just going to stay outside waiting for Coomer and Bubby to come with the clothes.

– Hey Benrey? Don't wear the same clothes, since they're work uniform they could be looking for us with that, so, dry your hair I guess, and I'll tell you when Bubby and Coomer get here with your new clothes okay? –Gordon said, talking to the other through the door, feeling like he was talking to a wall after hearing such long silence from him, but of course when he was about to say something the other reacted.–

– Sure, thanks. –He said.–

Gordon felt relief for some reason, hearing his voice normally and not in some fucked up tone was giving him more and more the sense of reality, they were out, they were away, there was nothing to worry about but of course what was following them, but side from that, they were more than okay being together and that was a good thing, right? Of course it was. He walked back to sit on the bed, looking everywhere on the room to find something to do, there was a TV but he didn't wanted to turn it on for now, that would give him more anxiety and stress him even more, know what was going on around the globe wasn't really something he wanted to know, although he was curious, he was sure his mental health state was going to be pretty fucked up just with looking at the TV and realizing what they've done.

After a few minutes, he heard a knock on the door, meanwhile Benrey was drying his hair, he stood up to open the door and see Coomer with the bag of clothes and with a little smile on his face as always, he told Gordon that Bubby decided to stay down and save a table for them as that happened, after that and talking a bit about what to do, he walked back downstairs and the long haired closed the door, holding the bag on his hands as he walked to the bathroom door, knocking the door a few times.

– I have your clothes here, should I just open the door or?.. –Gordon asked as he looked down for a bit.–

– Wait a second. –Benrey said as he finished drying his hair and unplugged the hair dryer, to then put a towel around his waist to cover himself and then opened the door a bit to peek out his head and receive the bag, pulling it inside and then close the door behind him.–

Gordon sat on the floor as he waited for Benrey to be ready, looking at the floor and then the bed to distract himself. Meanwhile Benrey was taking the clothes out of the bag, first he took off the towel and put on the underwear and then took the tshirt, looking at him confused at first but then he was really excited to see what it was about, putting it on and looking at himself in the mirror with a smile.

– Yoooo you guys got me a PlayStation Tshirt! That's cool. –He said.–

Then he took the pants and put them on, and since there was a hoodie there too, he put that on as well, leaving now the dirty clothes inside the bag as he opened the door and firstly looking up, but then down to see Gordon, smiling slightly as they both started at each other.–

– Sup' feetman. –Benrey said as he looked down at the other, making him stand up almost immediately, making the ex guard chuckle a bit as he walked to the bed and put the bag on top of it, going to grab his helmet to then put it on and just turn around, with both of his hands inside the pocket of the hoodie, he smiled, now walking to the door to leave the room.– Let's go.–

– Wait a moment, should we go for Tommy? He hasn't seen you and he probably won't like to wake up alone. –Gordon said as he took the keys of the room and walked out of there with Benrey, that remained silent thinking of an answer to that.–

– Sure, why not. –He ended up replying with a little smile.–

They walked to the room and just opened the door, quietly to not wake up Tommy that apparently was still sleeping, but that wasn't something really rare, he liked to take long naps with his dog after all and recharge all that was needed, his energy was much different from theirs, so everyone had a different way to function in that way. Sunkist eventually noticed the door and raised his head a bit, and as he watched how they both walked inside the room, he got excited when he realized that Benrey was awake, standing uo to run towards Benrey and almost jump on top of him, not barking, being silent for his owner that was sleeping, he licked the eldritch being on the face as he tried the push him down to get pets, Gordon was trying not to laugh out loud at Sunkist's way to act towards Benrey, considering he fought against him as well and now he was begging for pats from him.

He eventually sat on the floor and started giving Sunkist belly rubs as he laid down on the floor and waged his tail from side to side, panting as how happy he was, so the long haired sat besides him, putting his hair to the side to not interrupt his view too much as he gave the dog pats as well, being there for a few minutes until they noticed some movement on the bed, so they stopped giving Sunkist pets and the dog immediately stood up to jump on top of the bed and wait for his owner to fully wake up from that sleep, as he waged his tail and looked down, eventually scratching the bed a bit as well to wake him up soon enough to show him that surprise. Gordon stood up as the other kept sitting down and looking at the bed as be waited for Tommy to wake up, and as he thought of a way to not scare him like the others once he saw him, although he was sure he was going to take it pretty well he always had to be careful, but of course, with the approval of Sunkist everything was going to be okay.  
After a bit of waiting Tommy slowly woke up, looking at Sunkist with a smile on his face as he slowly sat down, Gordon didn't knew how to approach but he walked to him and sat next to him with a little smile on his face.

– Good morning Tommy. –Gordon said.–

– Good morning Mr.Freeman.. –Tommy replied with a smile.–

Meanwhile Benrey was crawling on the floor towards them, thinking about just peeking up from a distance to show him that he was now awake or lower any preoccupation. As they talked about any other thing, like how Bubby and Coomer were downstai and they had to go soon to not miss breakfast, before Tommy could stand up and go downstairs with him, Gordon stopped him for a bit.

– Hold on a bit, I think there's something you need to see. –He said, looking back for a bit and almost doing a signal.–

That was when Benrey slowly peeked up, looking to Sunkist and then Tommy as he smiled slightly, he didn't had much ideas on what to say since he wasn't really talkative in serious situations, being free to be himself now was pretty difficult without following a code, and even if He was clearly losing himself, he was up to try hard enough to be himself and find his true way to be.

– Benrey! You're awake!! –Tommy said in excitement as be quickly stood up to approach him, making the other stand up as well and then receive that hug with a smile, moving a bit as he was really happy to be able to see his friend safe and sound, awake and not as scary as he used to be back inside the facility, he always knew Benrey was more than just a scary face, and now he was more than ready to help him find his humanity once again, even if no one inside the group was human.– It's so good to see you doing good! Was it too rough? You must be hungry! It's been days! –

– Yeah, I have to admit I am a bit hungry so.. Let's go downstairs yeah? –Benrey said, as he slightly pulled away from that hug and looked up at his friend with a smile, then back at Gordon.– Yo should we bring Sunkist or we leave him here? –

– They let us inside with Sunkist, of course he can go. –Gordon replied.

– Okay then! Let me put on my shoes and then we go eat some food! –Tommy said as he walked away from them for a bit to sit on the bed and put on his shoes, then stand up and walk out with a smile, he looked as happy as always, he could believe he was lucky and had hope about the whole situation, finally good things were happening, and not that he was going to say it out loud due to luck reasons, but he was happy that everyone was safe and sound, and that was enough fuel to have a happy Tommy.–

They closed the door behind them once they were all out and started walking towards the stairs to go down as they talked, mostly Benrey asking how much he missed and Tommt keeping him updated about the whole situation, how they saw Darnold again, how the military was following them but apparently decided to leave them alone for now, too that they've been days on the road getting food and resources to have enough once they got to the house, telling him too about the plans Gordon had about a barrier and an invisibility machine to add with it, plus a purifier that was mostly Coomer's idea, with that Benrey was updated with most of what's been happening lately, and luckily nothing bad has happened yet, but it was better to just not summon whatever wanted to see them dead. As they were walking downstairs, they could hear the sound of the television that was in the lobby, but decided to just ignore it and go directly to get their food before the time runs out and they have to leave.

They got to the table that Coomer and Bubby were sitting on, they were clearly talking and Coomer was trying to make his friend reason and not do something stupid because Benrey was there now, clearly yeah he was easily irritable and the ex guard wasn't going to help much with that, but trying his best was the only thing he was going to do and not be as random as he used to be before, of course he was gonna have to explain a lot and answer other questions, he had a lot to say but at that point, he wanted to wait until they were in the car again and safety to avoid being heard by someone unwanted, though he didn't knew well how to explain the whole Gman situation, he would eventually find out a way to do that.

– Oh good! Everyone is here! There's a buffet so go get anything you boys want. –Coomer said as he smiled at them.–

They smiled back and went to get some food, there wasn't a big variety but it was enough to fill an empty stomach, and meanwhile Tommy and Gordon got the enough food to eat in that moment, aside from getring food safe for Sunkist to eat, Benrey did exactly the contrary, he got as much food as he could and what would fit on two plates, so when the others were already sitting down and waiting for him, he was still getting some food and juice, not even knowing himself how he had so much space inside his arms, he got food for like two people once he sat down on the table and put all on top of it, although they started at him a bit confused Coomer just started eating, same with Benrey, that had the perfect excuse to be eating that much.

– Guys, please, he hasn't ate in a while now he deserves it. –Gordon said as he looked at Bubby and Tommy, and after saying that he started eating like nothing.–

Bubby let out a sigh and started eating as well, same with Tommy, without saying a word, and of course no one commenting about Benrey's desperate way of eating because of starving for so long, and it was something he could feel when he was sleeping but not at the same time, being a weird feeling because of being concentrated on other things, but apart from that, he was lucky that he wasn't human or he would've been dead by now, so of course he now had to take more care of himself instead of dying constantly with the goofiest stuff or by the stupidest reason, it was time for him to be serious, something he doesn't does much but with the context of being followed and having perma-death, it was something he had to do.

After a few minutes they were all ready, only Coomer was left that was drinking his tea, but for the others, they were more than ready to go back to their rooms and get their stuff to not waste way too much time there or in any other place, because is was better to take less time to be as soon as possible at the house and start working on what they needed, aside from taking precautions when doing so as well, because they were sure they had to manage and take care of a lot of things in order to be able to build the pillars in the first place, and find a way that the energy of it is undetectable, just to make sure that nothing comes for them at that point and no one ends up hurt. After Coomer was done they all stood up and left the room, walking back upstairs as Coomer told Bubby to get their stuff, since it was only a few things, he was going to stay down there in the lobby, waiting as he sat on a couch and laid back, he didn't wanted to pay much attention to the TV that was on, but he eventually looked up.  
Everyone started packing their stuff and tidying everything as much as they could, Gordon left some money on the night table after he was ready, grabbing his hair and tying it getting his ponytail back, since he had his hair untied for way too long now and it was starting to get messy. They both walked out of the room, waiting in tbe hallway for Tommy and Bubby to be ready, and after a few minutes of waiting, once they came out with everything, they walked downstairs to give the keys to the receptionist and have everything ready without problems, so Bubby went to do that as the rest waited, when they walked to sit on the couch to prepare for the road, Gordon noticed that Coomer was standing up as he looked at the TV, he looked scared and concerned, and that wasn't a good sign.

He hurried to get to him and watch what was happening on the TV that had Coomer like that, he had to sit down to avoid feeling surreality again and just quiet there, his head was spinning, something wasn't feeling well of what it actually was, nothing was okay with what happened, because this time, it wasn't their fault.

There was an explosion at Black Mesa, more of a nuclear one, and not that it was something really surprising considering there was a lot of nuclear wastr and there was even rockets, but the fact that it happened, only a few days after they got away, was concerning, and scary, they could've been dead if they took any longer, it felt weird. Taking attention at the TV again after getting so distracted with his thoughts, they kept on talking about Black Mesa, how the explosion affected closer places to the facility, how there was still people hurt and they needed resources, but as well how all around the country people were going missing and there were strange portals in the sky as well, he really wanted to be calm about it, but he just felt like vomit.  
When Benrey and Tommy realized what was happening on the TV, they took Gordon and Coomer out of the hotel, Coomer was shaking, he was in shock, meanwhile Gordon was trying to remain on his feets and not fall down or just vomit, they just weren't feeling well, because nothing was okay about it.

– This can't be happening. –Gordon said to himself as he looked down and tried to stay still.–

– I knew.. I knew something wasn't right, and I said nothing about it.. They're all dead, I felt everything. –Coomer finally talked as he looked down and shaked slightly, looking at his hands as well.– All dead.. –He whispered to himself.–

– Dr.Coomer everything is going to be okay, but we need to go now, Black Mesa is gone, and that's for good, right? We better get as far as possible to avoid any problems, that means the military is moving, they can get to us really soon. –Tommy said as he was holding both Coomer and Gordon to help them stay still.–

Bubby walked out of the building, he saw the news, he knew as well, and for a second he felt lucky that he didn't felt his clones, but it was different with Coomer, he could feel everything they felt, emotions, pain, he didn't cared much about them when he was inside the facility, because back then he was begging to be able to feel something, but not that they were outside, something triggered most of those feelings back, meaning that it was painful and emotional, every death, memory, feeling, thoughts, he knew it all, or most of it, and now that they were all dead, that feeling going away, knowing it wouldn't happen again, he felt empty, he felt like nothing, something was feeling like a dream, just like Gordon was saying a while ago, now the feeling of surreality didn't wanted to go away.

– You guys go to the car, I'll take care of Coomer, we'll be back after a bit. –Bubby said, taking Coomer from Tommy carefully, to walk away from them as he held him close.–

– Let's go. –Benrey said, walking to the only car in the parking lot, and of course the one that radiated much more Bubby energy than he already thought, so they waited outside, Tommy eventually let go of Gordon to let him sit on the floor, as they sat besides him and tried to calm him down by hugging him, giving him pets or resting his head on him.–

He slowly started crying as he looked down to his hands, every time his eyes got blurry because of the tears, he swears he could see the HEV suit again, he could even hear the alarms, he put both of his hands on his head as he tried to not break out screaming or run away from them because of what was going on inside his mind, because it wasn't good, the first seconds of the resonance cascade lived now inside his mind, he just couldn't stop thinking about it, there were some times he had dreams about it, some weren't as scary, but when he has nightmares he had the worse time trying to calm down, and not that he waa angry about what happened, he was actually happy that the facility was no more, but something told him that it wasn't something good, such a big beam of energy wasn't a good sign in times like that.

Benrey was thinking of a way to calm him down, as Tommy was hugging him, he was resting his head on him, looking at the floor as he thought on what to do, or a way to distract him, until he remembered what he used to do to distract him of everything, talking or having a breakdown, there was always something that he could do to distract him.

– Hey, Feetman. –Benrey said, Tommy looked at him confused, but Gordon slightly raised his head and looked at him, and when he realized he had his attention, he kissed him on the cheek, taking the other's hand and holding it tightly, Tommy realized what he was doing and kissed Gordon on the head as well with a smile, thinking that would help to distract him because it was always a good way to cheer up friends.–

– A kiss?.. –Gordon asked, stopping his crying for a bit as he looked at the both of them.–

– What, do you want one on the lips? –Benrey asked as he looked at him raising an eyebrow and smiling, he was still holding his hand just in case, he could feel how tensed he was by that, so thinking that would help a bit, he didn't let him go.–

– No that's fine I.. needed something to snap back, thanks, guys. –He replied with a smile as he looked at the two of them, Tommy hugging him again and Benrey putting his head on the other shoulder once again, he still had that smile on his face, though he wished that the situation was better, it was what they had for now–

After long minutes of waiting Coomer and Bubby came back, at least Coomer was looking a little bit better but his eyes were red because of crying, they could notice that, and it wasn't really a good signal, no one liked to see their olders cry and that was the same feeling, but since Bubby was the one almost emotionless in the group and mature, he was the only one that knew how to calm Coomer down, aside from the obvious they've been knowing each other for more than 40 years, so it was something obvious. Once they saw them close enough to the car, they stood up and hurried to hug them, no one said running away was easy.

– Now now, is time to get a move on, we're on enemy territory and is better get away from here as soon as possible. –Coomer said as he wiped away his tears and smiled softly, Bubby took the keys of the car and opened it, so once the hug was over, they put their stuff in the trunk, closed it, and then walked inside the car.–

Benrey didn't really liked being in the middle, he had to say, but since there was no other space and he wasn't going to be all alone and cold in the trunk, he didn't said a word, just laid back his head as he looked at the roof and touched it a bit with curiosity. Now that Sunkist had more place to lay down, once they were all inside the car and Tommy made his dog hop on too, he immediately sat on top of Tommy and Benrey's lap to lay down and rest his head a bit on Gordon.

– Well, it looks like we won't be getting up anytime soon. –Gordon said laughing a bit as he looked at the dog.–

– Well, I don't mind. –Benrey said with a smile as the car engines started and Gordon chuckled.–

After a minute of Coomer organizing his maps and a folder he had, and Bubby helping him, he put his hands on the wheel and drove back to the road. Gordon was thinking to himself, now luckily being distracted by Benrey putting his head on his shoulder and Sunkist moving a bit, even standing up to sit back back to his owner's lap after a bit, aside from Benrey looking at his empty hands, so once he noticed this, he looked back at him confused.

– Is there something wrong? –He asked as he looked at the other's hands.–

There was a silence, for a few seconds, until he spoke.

– I can't make objects appear anymore.. I can't play on my psp.. –Benrey replied with a sad tone.– But, is there something wrong with you? –He now was asking to the taller, looking at him.–

– What do you mean? –Gordon replied with a nervous smile.–

– I see you have questions, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that can give you the answers. –He replied with a smile.–


	11. Looking back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benrey decides to tell Gordon everything about their past, in order to make him remember everything they took away from him.

Gordon stared at Benrey really nervous and uncomfortable, he felt like he was being read like an open book, just by looking at Benrey's eyes he knew he had all the answers to his questions, but his ways of replying, of saying something in that tone of voice intimidated him, and that wasn't a good signal when he wanted to know the truth, and just check if they could be friends like apparently they used to be. After a few seconds of saying nothing, the taller looked to a different place as he scratched his neck, now looking down feeling a bit humiliated, everyone knew how obvious he was, even Benrey at that point, and he was really embarrassed about it. Not saying a single word or an answer, the other was still starting at him, waiting for him to say something about it, he was still smiling, he was even asking himself how was it that his cheeks didn't hurt for smiling so much.

– So? Am I right? –Benrey added as he kept on looking at him, Bubby was looking back through the mirror and Tommy was staring at them, feeling curious about the conversation.–

Gordon feeling so stared at in those moments, blushed as he looked down and played a bit with his fingers, Benrey still waiting for an answer, he let out a sigh.

– If you don't say a thing, I'll just start saying embarrassing things that you did back in college. –He said with a smile.–

– Please don't do that. –Gordon replied really nervous, looking at him briefly to look down again.– I want to know, what am I missing, what I don't remember, I know you have the answers I.. I just want you to make me remember what I lost. –He said as he held his hands together and kept on looking down, trying to avoid the stare of the other, because he was sure he was going to die of embarrassment right there.–

– Well then, there's a lot, I've been trying to make you remember for days now, but if you want to know the whole story, sit on tight, this might get a bit confusing. –Benrey replied with a smile, sitting well on his seat as he took of his helmet and hugged him.– It all started, back in high school.–

Gordon blushed as he heard Benrey say those words, but he looked at him once he started telling that story, how they met back years ago. They went to different classes and had one year of difference between them, so they didn't go to the same classes, or were in the same grade, meaning that their meeting was completely unplanned, one day, when the bell rang and they were getting out of classes, it was so crowded that they accidentally bumped onto each other, making Benrey fall and almost be ran over the horde of children, of course he was going to get angry and say something about it, until he saw the T-shirt Gordon was wearing, and his expression changed, although he was wearing a beanie that had his hair covering part of his eyes, he didn't had that angry expression anymore, and of course, Gordon wasn't going to ignore him like nothing happened.

– Oh god, I'm so sorry I didn't meant to push you! –He said helping the other stand up, they had a height difference that brought a lot of attention but no one cared much about it.–

– Your T-shirt. –Benrey said as he slightly pointed to what the other was wearing.– You.. You like Doom? –He asked, looking up at him, his eyes seemed to light up.–

Gordon remained silent processing the question, since the other people's voices were almost covering his, until he realized the question, so he looked down and then up again to smile and nod.

– Oh! Yeah, I actually do! You like it too? –He asked back with a smile on his face.–

– I.. I do, uh, we could play one day, together, I know we just met but I really like playing videogames, and, I don't have much people to play with. –Benrey replied as he looked slightly down, feeling kind of embarrassed by the question he just made, but he had to introduce himself now that he noticed, so he looked back up after a few seconds and extended his hand to him.– I'm Benrey. –

– Gordon, Gordon Freeman. –The other said after a bit as he stretched the other's hand.–

They were smiling at each other, even when their hands stopped touching, Benrey was actually happy with that encounter now, thinking he could finally have a friend, he was going to do his best to be as friendly as possible in those moments to not scare him off like he did with anyone else, so they kept on talking, walking to the exit of the building as they talked about videogames, tv shows and comics, they now knew they shared a lot of tastes and that was enough for them to keep talking or seeing each other after school hours are over, being homework related, sleepover or just play videogames most of the day, he felt deep inside him that there was no way that man was gonna manage to get away from him that easily. A few minutes passed, being outside of the building as they talked and saw everyone going to their buses or just walking their way home, Benrey thought it would be a good idea to walk back home with him, but thinking how they just met, and that probably Gordon had to go to the bus taking care how he was looking at his clock, he thought it would be a good idea to just plan ahead and make sure that little friendship never breaks.

– Hey uh, I'm pretty sure you already have to go and it's getting late.. Is it okay if we see each other tomorrow too? I can wait for you outside the school and keep talking. –The smaller said as he looked at the other with a nervous smile, playing with his own fingers a bit as well.–

– Sure! I have no problems with that, you have really good taste, Benrey! It was a pleasure to meet you. Shit the bus is closing the doors, gotta go! See you tomorrow! –Gordon said those last words as he ran to his bus and quickly jumped in, Benrey just waved goodbye at him as he smiled slightly and put his free hand on his chest with a smile on his face and a few tears on his eyes.–

With that, after standing there for a while, staring at nothing, he walked in the direction to his home, thinking about nothing but what happened, he felt really happy about the conversation they had, at first he thought he was going to gain another enemy, since that was the reason he was so bullied, he was mean most of the time and barely caring, he barely had friends or people to talk to, he never got encounters as lucky as what happened, or people that didn't find him annoying by him way of talk or act, so that was rare, not a bad rare, a good rare, he finally felt happy about it, he finally had a reason to wake up every morning and go to school, even if he was close to being in his last years there, having someone like that to motivate him in that short while, was all he needed. The day after that, Benrey woke up early to walk to school, eating breakfast before going out as he doesn't normally does, being the reason why his parents were looking at him weirdly, and then walking off to the place to wait for Gordon, aside from having the free time to talk everything they wanted about classes, grades, or of course videogames, that was the main interest of Benrey.

After a while of waiting, minutes to say at least, the bus got there and Gordon walked out first, making Benrey immediately stand up from where he was sitting and smiled, walking to him once he realized that he saw him, having that smile on his face that to others could be really scary, for the other, it was just a simple and sweet smile, there was nothing wrong with it, now, Benrey was asking himself, how was it that he didn't find him earlier? Maybe was because of being too distracted, or because he normally runs out of the classroom once the bell rings to go back to his home, now that day, the only reason he couldn't do that was because he was finishing a homework, and someone took his backpack, so after that and finally managed to get out of there, happened what was just mentioned. Days passed by, weeks, months, and suddenly it was the end of the year, they were still talking to each other, growing closer every time, going to each other's houses, playing games and helping each other with the homework, they had to study for the final exams so that's what they've been doing, during school or out of it, they focused on studying enough and after a while they played videogames if everything went well and memorized what was needed, so that was motivation for them, the challenge they needed, of course they were more than happy with it, even if no one liked exams and neither did them, but as long as they had something fun as a reward, everything was alright.

During vacations, they were still seeing each other, going out and exploring abandoned places out of curiosity, but there was one house, a big mansion that they couldn't go in like nothing, it was clearly abandoned from years ago, but just like them, no one had the courage to go inside, being one of the reasons there was no graffiti, or broken windows, or an open door, there were bad vibes that they could feel even out of the perimeter, and that was just telling them everything they needed to go, but it was a promise, they were going to go inside once their school years were over, and even if Gordon was getting out earlier than Benrey, waiting a year to know what was lurking inside that abandoned place wasn't going to kill him. They went to the mall and ate some food, drank sodas, went to a Walmart as well and goofed around, got more sodas since Benrey had a mini bar, aside from chips and other things to eat, that night, they were going to have a sleep over, and nothing was going to ruin it, so once they got everything, they paid with the money they got and got a bus to go back home, since they were tired, they preferred to walk less and just spend all the time home laying down, watching TV and eating chips while they were resting from all they walked here and there, but after a while they started playing videogames once again, Gordon sitting on the ground and Benrey on the bed, bothering themselves as much as they could in order to win, laughing at it, but at the end both of them ended up losing and that was enough laughing material as well.  
Of course since Gordon was going to stay the night there, he had to call his mom to get his backpack that he forgot to bring and had all his clothes and stuff in, so Benrey was sitting on his bed, looking at a blank spot as he remained motionless, thought he snapped out of it once Gordon was ready and walked inside the room again, standing on the door when he realized he interrupted the other in whatever he was doing, so after a few seconds he walked in anyways and sat on the floor in front of him as they both looked at the TV.

– I packed some games we could play that I'm sure you don't have, so we'll have even more fun now, we just gotta way.. Any ideas? –Gordon said as he looked up at the other, resting his head on the border of the bed.–

– We could wait, or watch a horror movie, what do you wanna do? –Benrey asked as he looked down at him with a smile.–

– Let's watch a horror movie and make some popcorn, how about that? –Gordon asked back, turning around to see him, not realizing how close they were until he put his hands besides Benrey and looked up to him on his knees.–

– Well then, that's a good idea. –He replied, closing his eyes a bit to then stand up and walk out of the room and to the kitchen, immediew blushing once he got out and covering his face with the beanie as he tried not to scream at the top of his lungs.–

Gordon stood up and just lay down on the bed as he looked at the roof and eventually heard the sound of the corn pop, he was thinking to himself what movie they could watch, since he was really slow and didn't realized much everything he did for being blind not in the way of having to wear glasses, but because he was way too slow to realize what he did or other people's reaction to that, and yes that was why he still doesn't has a couple yet or something related, he didn't knew how to catch indirectives when someone tried to flirt with him. After a bit the noise stopped and Benrey walked back with a bowl of popcorn, leaving it on the bed and then walking to the mini bar and taking out two energizers, looking back at Gordon with the cans of soda on his hand and smiling as he had an idea, standing up and walking to him to grab his tshirt and pulling it up to put the cold can of energizer on his stomach and then walking to choose a movie to watch, so he chose Nightmare on Elm Street and then sat besides him as he laughed at him complaining about the cold can.

They started watching the movie as they ate the popcorn, Benrey wasn't really scared by the movie, as he has seen it a couple of hundreds of times, and Gordon has seen it only once, and halfway, he didn't really liked watching horror movies, because even for being a year away to graduate school, he was still easily scared, he didn't even knew well if he wanted to go inside that abandoned house, but since it was a promise, and Benrey actually wanted to do that, he didn't had any other choice, but putting that aside, he was next to a friend, he was going to try not to get as scared as he would usually get, only to not show that weak side of him in front of him. Hours passed, they finished watching the movie luckily and Benrey was yawning as he stretched and sat on the bed, scratching his back a bit and then looking at Gordon a bit confused as why he was still laying down motionless and with the popcorn bowl on his arms, he was hugging it.

– Everything okay? –Benrey asked with a little smile.–

– Yes, of course I am! 100% doing good man! Haha! –Gordon said with a smile and a shaky voice as he took a popcorn and ate it nervously.–

Benrey just started at him with his eyes half closed and a smile that no one could ever take away from him, he laughed a bit and then laid down again next to him, putting his hand on the other's chest as he looked at him closely.

– What is it Gordon? Did the movie scare you? Wanna sleep with me so you don't have nightmares? –He asked jokingly as he took the bowl of popcorn.–

Gordon looked at him, he was clearly still scared, so he nodded as he held his own hands together and tried to calm himself down, being a joke or not what Benrey said on his point of view, he didn't liked sleeping alone after watching a horror movie, and not that he didn't have a plushie that could help him sleep as well, he did have one but forgot to bring it, because he didn't wanted to be seen so soft in front of Benrey, but being scared, he had to say fuck it.  
Gordon lay down on his side as he looked at Benrey, the other clearly didn't expected that, but didn't say much about it, he wasn't in a place to judge, so he remained still for a second, thinking on what to do as he looked at him, not that it was something really uncomfortable, but there was something he wanted to do, he slowly put his hand on the other's cheek and then slide it up to his hair, touching it and playing with it a bit, being careful not to hurt him by any twitch or shake his hand could have, the other slowly started closing his eyes as he felt the comforting touch of his friend, slowly starting to feel more and more relaxed and secure with that. With his free hand, Benrey took off Gordon's glasses and put them aside, taking the time he had to do that now that his friend was much more relaxed and he always wanted to know how his hair felt like, looking so shiny and soft all the time, it was clear that he took good care of it, and now being able to feel it between his fingers, was the best sensation he could ever feel, but sadly, after a while of doing that, Gordon opened his eyes once again, looking at the other with a tired and relaxed stare, he wasn't angry or disturbed by him doing that, instead, he put his hand on Benrey's cheek and slowly started to move it, caressing it as he then moved his hand to under his beanie and the back of his head, doing to same the other was doing as they just laughed slightly at it, they eventually just put their fronts together and kept on doing that until they realized they were falling asleep and just stopped, but didn't moved their hands from the place they stopped.

– Should we play a game and then head to sleep? Is getting pretty late. –Gordon said in a sleepy voice.–

– Sure, why not. –Benrey replied with a little smile on his lips.– I didn't knew you were touch starved. –

– Me? You too. –The other replied as he laughed softly, Benrey laughing back at him as he let out a sigh and closed his eyes, giving the other back his glasses and moving his hand to leave the other's hair alone for a bit.–

They didn't stood up immediately though they would probably have to do that, since they were really tired by that and probably were about to fall asleep, mostly ignoring it for a bit until Gordon but his glasses back on and looked at the other, almost analyzing him as he tried to get his hair out of his view, just being curious about him in many ways, but mostly wanting to know how he looked without that beanie, since he used it all the time when they were together and now being in his house he still wouldn't take it off, he didn't knew if asking about it would come out as something really rude, but he was really curious.

– Hey, Benrey? Why don't you take the beanie off? –Gordon asked in a soft voice.–

– This?.. Oh, I guess is only for comfort, makes me feel good, and, at this point, is part of my everyday outfit, it.. It was gift by an old childhood friend, I guess, they had to go away. –He replied still with his eyes closed, though he opened them to look at the other with a little smile.– I'll eventually move on from it, if it bothers you. –

– Of course not, is totally okay, I'm just.. I've never seen you without it, I feel curiosity. –Gordon said with a little smile on his face as he rubbed his neck a bit.–

– Oh well.. why not. –Benrey replied, sitting now on the bed as the other did the same, looking at him and putting part of his hair behind his ear, it was a bit long at the time so it something he had to do, so without a doubt, Benrey took off his beanie, moving his hair a bit, it was long and fluffy in some way, most of it was covering part of his eyes like it already did with the beanie on, but it was more noticeable now, his hair was messy, but not a bad messy, at least for Gordon, that looked good.– ..And?–

– You look good, it really fits you. –Gordon replied laughing a bit and messing with the other's hair a bit.–

Benrey started laughing a bit as he tried to stop him, leaving the beanie aside as he tried to do the same with the other's hair, eventually falling off the bed as they laughed and stopped once they hit the floor, now laying down and looking at the roof as they calmed down their breathing. Benrey sat down, and looked for his beanie to put it on again and stand up to get a game they both could play, Gordon sat down and looked at the TV, standing up to take the movie CD out of the player and leave it back on it's case, turning on the console once again and sitting on the bed, grabbing a controler as he looked at Benrey choose a videogame, realizing how complicated he was as he didn't wanted to choose a game they've already played countless of times.

– Wanna play Doom? We haven't played it in a while now.. –Benrey asked with a little smile as he held up the box and looked back at his friend, that smiled back and nodded.–

With that, Benrey walked to put the game in the console, grab a controller and sit next to his friend, with that they played for hours until they had to go to sleep. That summer passed by luckily not really quickly, they had time to do a lot of things and goof around, of course there were times, being a month away to having to go back to school, they were talking about what would happen while Gordon was giving his friend advice for the year that was about to come for him, while of course he was eyes closed being his last year there, that was making Benrey really anxious, having to spend a year alone in a school full of people he didn't really liked was going to be a pain in the ass, that even wasn't a lie, of course he could ignore everyone as always but being a whole year without having an after school buddie was going to be hard, of course he was still going to hangout with him when school hours were over and had free time and of course ask for advice when he had any exams week or some important test coming as well, so of course, without realizing, last year of Gordon was here, and with that, they were closer and closer to having to make the promise true, going inside the abandoned house that they promised they would go inside after they were done with school, they never really forgot about it, of course even if they didn't talked about it much, it was still there.

When it was Gordon's graduation, he managed to get an invitation for his parents, sister and Benrey, everyone was dressing formal while he was sitting there with the same clothings as always, having a smile on his face as he looked at the scenario, where Gordon was standing on, so once he got his diploma, he raised it up on the air and as everyone was clapping, Benrey stood up and ran to the scenario, making Gordon quickly run down after stretching hands with the director and other people, then jumping to hug his friend being careful to not mess his diploma up and break it by accident, they were hugging tightly as they laughed, letting a few tears fall down from his eyes, as they looked at each other with a smile on their faces.

– You fucking did it bro! You're getting out of this hell hole! –Benrey said as he put both if his hands on the other's cheeks.–

– Yeah! And you're not too far away from doing the same dude! We're getting out of here! –Gordon replied as he did the same and just hugged him again, then held his hand to run back to his parents and sister, waiting for the whole ceremony to be over, and yeah Gordon wasn't supposed to be there in the first place he still had to wait and be with everyone but he didn't liked his classmates too much so he preferred to be with his family and friend than the others.–

When everything was over, they were walking to the car, Benrey following he felt a bit insecure, if he should go with them back to Gordon's house or just leave them be, but he motivated him to just go with them back home and stay for the night as it was planned in the first place. They had a little party back in Gordon's place, with most of his family there and Benrey just following his friend around, looking at the house really curious and amazed, there were a lot of pictures on the wall and decorations, he was really distracted by them until the other told him he was going to show him his room, so he followed, realizing there were more pictures on the wall the way up, he was amazed by seeing such a big family and a bit sad by how his parents barely looked at him since they were way too busy with their jobs, but at least he was happy that Gordon was getting all the goods he deserved by having such a good and caring family.

They spent almost an hour talking while sitting on Gordon's bed, just about school, what they were going to do now, and future plans, and of course Gordon's plans about university and what he was probably going to study as well, meanwhile Benrey didn't really knew what to do, he was thinking about something videogame related or coding since he was really interested in that area and really wanted to learn more than he already knew, so they had most of it planned, but something new that his friend was planned, was waiting for him to get to a university they both could go, and even if Benrey didn't really liked the idea of making him wait that much, he had to wait as well, so that counted, and of course, he was sure that university wasn't going to be that bad with him, so the idea was perfect for both of them, the plan was already sealed.  
Benrey's last year of school wasn't the best, everyone was having group conversations on what pose to do for group photos and last things while he was drawing on his sketchbook in the back of the class, he was really sad that he didn't really had a single friend there, but since year was about to end, he barely cared about it, or the bullies, he just laughed at their mean comments and scared them away, thinking about he was really close to see Gordon everyday again was giving him enough energy to finish that hell of a year, even if everyone was making fun of his looks, he didn't cared about it anymore, so at the ceremony, only Gordon was there, his parents couldn't even show up, and not that he cared, but once he got his diploma and got to walk off the stage, he ran to Gordon, took him by the hand, and ran away with him from that place with the diploma, as he laughed and then panted trying to catch his breath, laughing as he took his hat off and sat on the floor with Gordon, that was laughing as well, the other looked at his diploma and let out a sigh, letting out tears of happiness as he tried to hold himself together, and when the other realized, he immediately hugged him, petting his head and letting him rest his head on his shoulder as he tried to calm himself down, Benrey holding tight onto him as he cried on his shoulder, it was finally over, for both of them, it was no more.

A week passed since that day, since Benrey's parents were away, Gordon's parents decide to make him a party, since they really liked to make parties, they were happy to make Benrey one as well, and when they got to go to university, he decided to go live with Gordon since his parents offered him that, taking most of his stuff with him, even the console, because now that he was finally 18 he could move out, and without complaining, they let him get out of there. They found a university they could go to at the end, having even a campus as well, Benrey took most of his savings to go there and with the help of Gordon's family he managed to go as well, so after they luckily got accepted because of their grades, being a week away from going there, they did what they had to do, a promise they never forgot.

They went to the abandoned house.

They both walked with backpacks and flashlights to the house, standing in front of it for a few minutes until Benrey decided to walk in the perimeter of it, feeling a chill go up his spine, making him gulp as he walked up the front stairs to the door, Gordon being right on his back, waiting for him to open the door, once the other managed to open the door, he walked in first, turning on his flashlight, and after a few steps, Gordon being about to go inside with him, the door closed shut, making the other jump of fear, looking back at the closed door and the dark place, he pointed with his flashback everywhere as be heard his friend call for him.

– Hold on! I'll look for a way out! The door is locked! –Benrey said to his friend to the other side as he slowly walked more deep inside the house.–

– Please be careful! –Gordon screamed back, letting out a sigh as he walked around the house looking for any other entrance.–

Benrey started walking to rooms, some of them were closed shut like the door that there was in the kitchen leading outside, but he kept on looking. He eventually just started exploring, going inside a bedroom that looked like it was from a little kid, there were family photos hanged up on the wall, and a key, that was from a different bedroom that was closed as well, so he used it to open the door, being scared at first because he only felt the smell of dust, but he started exploring it as well, inside the room there was a big bed, an old radio and a lot of family and couple photos, but on the bedside table there were two rings, he didn't touched them, he only looked at them, there was a second floor he wanted to go as well but decided to wait for Gordon, so he walked back to the living room to the front door again, and when he tried to open it, he realized something wasn't right, someone was sitting on the couch, so he slowly turned around, and saw a man, sitting there with a briefcase besides him, pointing at him with the flashlight, he lowered a bit and realized his eyes were shining, that scared him even more.

– Who are you, how did you get inside? –Benrey asked scared.–

The man laughed, standing up as he grabbed the briefcase as smiled back at him.

– I should be asking that, since you, well, interrupted. into my house. I know who you are, Benrey, and you're very. Very curious, I see that. –The main said, slowly walking to him.–

Benrey started walking back, eventually touching the door and briefly looking back and then back to the man, it was real, he WAS real, he wasn't even dreaming or hallucinating, he was more than sure about it, but being so scared, he started running away from him, looking for a place to hide, he found an open door that was leading downstairs, and without thinking about it twice, he ran there, he pointed everywhere with the flashlight, eventually turning it off and sitting down as he hugged it and tried to calm his breathing, be could hear footsteps, everything was starting to get really noisy, so he covered his ears as he was holding himself back from not having a panic attack, but eventually the noise was so much and he was getting so overwhelmed by whispers and voices and hearing more and more footsteps, he screamed as he felt his shoulders, head and back being touched and feeling a really bad pain on his chest, not being able to take the pain and feelings anymore, he started crying, feeling dizzy and extremely scared, he screamed louder, and suddenly, the noise stopped, he heard droplets now, so he quickly stood up, feeling his legs numb and his chest hurt, his nose was bleeding, hurrying up upstairs as he ran to the front door.

– GORDON! –He screamed, before loosing consciousness and collapsing on the floor.–

Gordon, that was already trying to open the door from earlier when he heard the footsteps from inside, and now that he heard the scream, he hurried to the front door and kicked the door open, looking at Benrey that was collapsed on the floor, bleeding from his lip and nose, he stood there, looking down at his friend with fear, quickly hurrying up to him and trying to wake him up, borderline crying, he hugged him and quickly carried him on his arms, running outside as he heard the door close shut behind them, and screams from inside, looking at the curtains open once he turned around to see and the lights turned on as well, suddenly, music started playing, it was a really old and disturbing tune, so he quickly backed away and ran with Benrey on his arms to a safer place as he tried not to break out crying, at the end he went back to his house, kicking the door open, almost being yelled at by their parents until they realized what was going on.

He lay Benrey down on the couch and looked for everything to wake him up or just check what was wrong, they cleaned his noise and as they were taking his hoodie and tshirt off to check, they realized he had bruises and a few scratches on his chest and back, Gordon's parents didn't say a thing, they just tried to help the younger as much as they could, though it didn't seem that he was going to wake up soon, but after the day passed, the next morning, he woke up, just when Gordon was next to him, he slowly opened his eyes, looking at the roof in confusion as he tried to move, his whole body hurted, so when Gordon realized, he immediately made him stay down.

– Don't move, you're way too hurt, just stay there. –Gordon said, putting both of his hands on Benrey to keep him down.–

– What.. What happened? –He asked in a soft voice as he put a hand on his forehead, then looking up at his hand, his finger tips were red.– Did I.. Collapsed or something? –He added, now looking at Gordon really worried.–

– I'm not sure what happened, but I think you were chased by something, or someone, they hurt you, and you passed out. –Gordon said, looking at him worried as well.–

– Is there something wrong with me? –Benrey asked with tears on his eyes.–

Gordon looked at him confused, and eventually took the other's hair and put it aside to uncover his eyes, realizing that they changed, the color of his iris ans pupil was different from his normal color, his iris had a red and green color while his pupil was yellow and shiny, aside from that, his teeth changed as well, from the normal shape to being pointy, almost shark like, and of course, that really scared him a lot at first, but he knew that was the Benrey he knew and loved, not possessed, not someone else, he knew it was him, so just because his appearance changed, he was in absolutely no place to judge. So he didn't say a thing, he only hugged him tightly, making the other cry as he held tight onto him, but after a while he helped him stand up so he could see himself in the mirror, even if he was feeling pain in almost all his body, he was holding him firmly so he couldn't fall, they looked at themselves in the mirror, and Benrey smiled slightly, touching his face as he cried, at least he was thankful that he wasn't in school or he would get double bullied.

– I'll just.. Have to get used to it, I guess. –He said, sniffing his nose as he looked down for a bit, his vision was blurry because of the tears.–

Gordon kissed his cheek with a little smile, making Benrey look up surprised and blush a bit as he looked at him.

– In my own opinion, you look good anyways. –Gordon said with a smile, as he hugged him and put his head on the other shoulder, looking at themselves in the mirror still.–

– Thank you.. –Benrey whispered as he tried to stop crying.–

They still went to university together, Benrey let his hair grow for a while but then cut it short, while Gordon let his hair grow his hair enough to have a ponytail, aside from letting his beard grow, they luckily shared room inside the campus, but still went to different classes and different tests and exams, they still tried to help each other out as much as they could, eventually, Gordon met a girl, almost at the end of the university years, she dated her for months, almost a year, sadly they got carried away and had a kid, Gordon decided to call him Joshua, he was still with said girl for one more year, until she left and made Gordon take care of Joshua, not even taking responsibility or visiting them, she left the country, and Benrey had to help him raise the kid, and after a few years passed, that lead to the day they both started working at Black Mesa, eventually to the present day.

In the present, Benrey has been telling the story for hours almost non stop, no one asked a question, Tommy was looking confused as why his father had to do with Benrey changes, and Gordon was trying his best to believe something he still couldn't remember well, but now that he realized, thinking so hard on it that he had a really bad headache, but slowly, his blurry memories started becoming more clear, some still were trying, but he now remembered even more than he did before. He looked at Benrey for a few seconds, realizing he was waiting for something, a question, a word about it, thinking he could remember everything from a second to another, even having a few tears on his eyesas he tried not to break down in anger, thinking it didn't worked, and when he was about to say something else Gordon hugged him tightly, still being confused, but even if he had that bad headache, he was more than sure, Benrey wasn't telling lies, he was being sincere about it, Benrey for some reason was really shocked and confused by that hug, letting out a few tears after realizing, he hugged him bacj, hiding his head on his shoulders as he held tightly to the other's shirt.

– I trust you. –Gordon said.–


	12. Get used to it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On their way to the house, they found a town in the middle of the way, having to stop so Benrey could make the fake passports and be able to trick the military, being part of the plan succesful, most of the city had no capacity, so after getting some food, they went back to their way and found the hotel they were supposed to stay in the first place, before they knew about the town, but meanwhile, Gordon still has troubles remembering and trusting Benrey.

Still sitting on the car, Benrey had his head on his friend's shoulder as he closed his eyes with a smile on his lips, they were close to a gas station that they were gonna have to stop to stretch and rest for a bit, since it's been hours that Bubby's been driving and they were already getting tired, the car was really silent, just as usual, they thought that because Benrey was back there would be even more noise but they realized he wasn't really as they thought he was, he was really calm and relaxed when nothing bad was happening or he wasn't angry, he used to be pretty noisy and his way of acting towards them back then wasn't really great, since he manipulated them a lot into making them think so much different shit but in a way, he was manipulated into thinking that as well, having to be against his friend and fight against his will, having to go through realizing that his friend doesn't knows who is he anymore, that he was a total stranger to him, a no one, a simple guard, a deadly god, being insulted by everything he did by someone that told him to don't feel ashamed of who you are, but now, of course it was the time to change everything, make him realize he was never bad at all, that he wasn't supposed to be that way, being forced to be everything he hated to be, that he was just an old good friend, he was more than determined to make him remember, even if that meant having to kiss him, and not that it bothered him, since he was trying to make him remember like that from earlier.  
They eventually got to the station and as Bubby was putting gas in the tank, the others walked to the service station, while Sunkist remained inside with a window open to let him breathe, but since he was sleeping he didn't cared much about it. They went inside the station, this time it seemed like they left not long ago, the lights were on and the cash machine was open, there were still a few dollars there, but it looked like they grabbed some before they left, but of course, not caring much about it, they grabbed some food and walked back to the car, eating some sandwiches they found and drank some juice, it was lunch time after all so them eating that food was simply ideal, and just a way to not waste as much food because of they were about to face.

After a while of resting and sitting down or laying down on the floor, mostly Benrey running around and exploring a bit almost like a dog, Gordon called for him to go back because they had to go, and quickly went back to them and walked inside the car, sitting in the middle of Gordon and Tommy as always as he looked to the front, finally both Coomer and Bubby walked inside the car and after checking a few things he started the car and drove back to the road, Coomer was writing a few things down as he looked up for a few seconds mumbling under his breath and then going back to writing things down again, Bubby wasn't saying a thing about it, since he was more focused on the time they were gonna get to the next stop to rest and how close they were to the final stop, but now, in the middle of the way there, they found a town, and once Bubby saw the lights, he immediately stopped the car and pulled aside, everyone looked at him confused, until he told them to stay quiet and then walked out of the car, looking at the distance how there were a few houses with the lights on and military cars, he walked to the side, somewhere there weren't many trees and away from the car, putting his hands on his waist as he looked around, breathing in and out, he ended up screaming as his whole body lighted up on a really bright fire, and after cursing and screaming to the air letting his fire be free for a while, he turned down, and walked back to the car, stepping inside and closing the door once he was in.

– The military is ahead. Coomer, I have absolutely no fucking clue from where are we supposed to get those passports with the new identities, because we can't make ones out of fucking paper. –Bubby said as his head let out some smoke.–

– You guys need passports with fake identities? –Benrey asked as he crossed his arms.–

– I hope there's nothing wrong with it, considering that is for our own safety. –Coomer said, shrugging a bit as he looked back through the mirror.–

Benrey remained quiet for a few seconds as he thought to himself about what to do, he looked at his hand for a few seconds and rolled up his sleeves, he whispered something under his breath and a blue screen appeared in front of his hand, that at first had a few errors and as Benrey was using it for longer, his claws started to grow, his fingertips having a bright color red, the man grunted a bit as he was using the screen, they were all looking at him worried but more was Tommy, that wasn't only worried but scared as well, he seemed to be in pain and that was the scary part of it, but after a while of whispering under his breath, the screen disappeared, and a few passports dropped to his lap, but he didn't took them, he just laid back and tried to catch his breathing from being so rusty, having his code being rewritten and just, by being restricted a few things, he wasn't even supposed to do that in the first place.

– Take them and check, I had to modify the images to your actual self's, and Gordon, you're gonna have to change your hair a bit. –Benrey said as he tried to catch his breath, putting his hand on his chest and then took off his helmet, as Tommy took the rest of the passports and gave their respective ones to Bubby and Coomer, leaving him with Benrey and his.–

– My hair? –Gordon asked as he opened the passport and looked at the photo, that he had his hair until and part of it was covering a bit one of his eyes.– Okay that's not that bad luckily.. Oh wait, you even put the names Coomer choose? –He added, looking at his friend impressed.–

– Yeah.. That took a lot, a passport means a lot. –Benrey replied as he looked at the roof of the car.–

– Well.. At least everything seems to be in order for me, at least I get to still wear the hat! –Tommy said, and the looked at his dog.– I'm sorry buddy, you'll have to be Sprite for a bit, is that okay? –He asked.–

The dog whined in reply and let out a sigh, lying down now on his lap and Benrey's as well. They all took a look at their passports, memorizing serial numbers and the names that were written there, just in case they were asked any questions, at least they were lucky that they didn't really had to change their voices since no one knew how they sounded like, but they had to be more careful with their appearance and that said a lot, considering even if they weren't wearing their scientist clothes, they didn't thought the military was stupid enough to not recognize them, but they shouldn't judge like that, they were just as stupid to not recognize them so they were fine. After a while of memorizing the passport numbers and names and Benrey hiding his helmet to put on a beanie aside from Gordon untying his hair to put it like it was on the picture, now after preparing enough and repeating their fake names over and over again, Bubby started the car again and drove back to the road and to that town, being stopped before they could go in, and that's when everyone let out a big sigh and started with their acting.  
They asked about their names and numbers, relatives and if they knew about what happened with Black Mesa, they even asked if they were carrying any guns, of course they said no, because if they spoke with nothing but the truth they've already been dead, until they asked if they had something in the trunk, Bubby had to open it for them to just look if there was something suspicious, and since the guns were covered by the bags of food and clothes, they thought it was nothing and just closed the trunk like nothing, then after a few more checks and individual questions, they managed to get inside the city, the sun was about to set so for that night, and only that night, they decided to stay there for a bit and then continue their way, though that would ruin Coomer's plan for a bit and they would probably have to sleep inside the car for a while, at least they were half way there and not less.

Luckily the only interruption they had was the military asking names and numbers and the reason why they were so late compared to other people, they just wished there wasn't a control as well when they were going out of there, because it definitely wasn't a good plan considering whatever was outside could kill anyone in the city and they wouldn't be able to do much about it, considering how weak they were when they were in Black Mesa, a few headcrabs would kill them instantly, and of course, they would kill them instantly, but fighting in the middle of a city with them wasn't the best thing they could do since it would involve more than just the army and some cops, causing chaos when they were trying to escape wasn't really a good way of run away, so as they were looking for an hotel that wasn't horribly full, and coming to the conclusion that there was nothing, they stopped in front of a mini market to but a few things that Tommy and Bubby were missing, this time, the older bought an energetic and Tommy instant coffee, for the way, and to be a little more awake since he was already falling asleep. Coomer was writing something down on the papers and notes, and when he noticed that they were going back to the car, he sat straight and looked at Bubby that just opened the door of the car and walked in to sit in front of the wheel as always.

– Dr.Bubby, I'm not sure you'll like sleeping inside the car tonight, but I was calculating a bit, there's a higher chance the place we would've normally gone to is full as well.. I don't know if you want to risk it as well, or sleep inside the car, because I'm sure there's not going to be a way back. –Coomer said as he looked through notes and then back to the other.–

– We can still ask for a few places, and if there's nothing, we'll be going to the other place or sleeping inside the car, does that sounds okay? –Bubby said as he started the car and looked in front of him, there was a lot of people on the streets, walking around and living their lives like nothing happened, but aside from that, there was a lot of people sitting on the side of the street as well, with baggage and not much stacks of food, and even if the view was miserable, considering a few people were having radiation poisoning and had to be carried away by the militaries that were walking around, there wasn't much they could do right way, and not that they cared much about other people, but definitely that view for Gordon wasn't a pleasant one.–

They started asking in some of the hotels they passed by if there was space, but considering there were people outside it was just clear that there was no space there, and just as they were walking inside one someone kicked a few people out, and after looking for about an hour, they all went back to the car and had no other thing to do but just get out of the city and check if the place was full or not, and while they were waiting to get there, Coomer started indicating a few things, how now he found out there's actually two towns on the way and that they were probably going to find another one in the way, and not that it was a problem but that one was much bigger than the one they already were into, meaning that the chance of being catched lying was increasing exponentially, but as long as they memorized well and worked on a story too, everything was going to be okay, at least according to the olders of the group, and as long as they stayed together, nothing bad would happen.  
They got to the building at the end, this time, compared to the last hotel they've been, this one had more cars than the other, and if had a definitely different layout, and not that it was a bad thing, since they barely cared about any bad energy when they had Benrey, so Bubby parked the car and they all walked out, walking to the building as the mentioned was locking everything and making sure it was secure enough for him to not worry much about it, and not that he had any words or spell for people that tries to steal it to instantly combust, but he was going to work on something like that eventually, definitely. Once they got outside, Tommy held his dog on his arms just in case they tried to kick them out because of it, but luckily they were good with the dog and let them have the rooms, though these weren't as close to each other as the last one, in fact they were in different floors, and not that they didn't liked it, but in case something happened, they would have to run or fight alone, but trying not to care much about it, they talked for a bit and then walked to their rooms, they all would have to share rooms as usual, so once they were in the elevator, Coomer gave Gordon the keys to his room as he explained what they were going to do tomorrow morning, hours and others, trying to be quick as they already reached the second floor, so Gordon and Benrey walked out, the taller waved a bit to them before the door closed, and then walked to their room in silence, opening the door with the key once they were there, and as the older was walking inside the room calmly, Benrey quickly walked inside and threw himself to the bed, letting out a sigh as he just used occupied all the bed and made himself comfortable there as he realized that the other was watching him.

– Yo Feetman, will you join me or you'll stand there all night? –Benrey asked as he now looked at the other and smiled smugly.–

Gordon laughed slightly and walked up to him, sitting on the border of the bed until he was pulled back by the other, that was laughing and smiling as he looked at him, the other looking back with a little smile on his lips as he turned to see the roof and put both of his hands on his stomach and just thought to himself, there was a lot going on and luckily he was starting to process everything, but having Benrey there, awake, was going to be difficult sleeping with him without the fear of waking up all tied up, and even of he said that he trusted him, it was still going to take him time to get used to all of that, and not that he wanted to show his fear and insecurities, because he was more than sure that if he was calm enough with him, he would be the same way with him and the real way he used to act like before he got his memories of him erased, so receive any type of affection from him without being aggressive, was going to be hard, and he was more than sure about that, of course a hug wouldn't kill him, but he still was indecisive about what to do with both of them, since he was enough of a crying mess when Benrey woke up, and just now he was calming himself down from all that's been happening.

– Yo, you've been thinking for a while now. –Benrey said as he looked at the other almost with puppy eyes.–

– Ah, yeah, sorry, I've been a bit distracted. –The other replied with a little smile and put his hands behind his head, still looking at the roof as the other followed and did the same.– Do you.. Want me to sleep here with you or do I sleep on the floor? –Gordon asked as he looked at the other, that looked at him back confused by the question.–

– I've slept with you before on the same bed, that's the least of my problems, so don't worry about that, not like I bite in my sleep bro, and I'll definitely won't kick you out of the bed, so it's totally fine, just relax! –Benrey replied now with a smile as he turned around and put both of his hands on his cheeks as he looked.– Not that I'll do something you don't like, things are different remember? Don't make me the enemy again for absolutely no reason. –

– Sorry. –Gordon replied feeling a bit guilty as he shrugged a bit.–

– Oh it's totally fine, at least now knowing our story you won't do it again. Right? –Benrey said with a smile until he reached the last part, looking at him dead serious, knowing well that the other was trying to avoid his eyes, but that was totally the point, because he wouldn't let that happen again being code free and advanced AI.–

– Right.. –Gordon replied looking to the other side.–

Benrey let out a sigh as he sat down and then stood up, walking to the window as he looked outside, it was almost night time at that point and lately it's been between being way too dangerous because of the lack of light, but at the same time, night time for Benrey was really comforting and nice, instead of seeing it as something dangerous and scary, for him it was the only chance he had to be able to rest and not being bothered by something else while he was working on something personal or simply drawing, so night time was his favorite, apocalypse or not, nothing would change that, aside from liking to sleep a lot, even though he's slept enough, he was feeling really tired, almost as usual, but he had nothing to keep himself awake, and he was sure that by sleeping he would make the other uncomfortable as well, and that point, even a little joke could change the way of everything, so one thing he could to of course was just, be quiet, most of the time, or talk to himself as well, he didn't really liked to be or feel like a bother but lately that's nothing but his only feeling, they talked to him only when they needed to know something, or asked for a favor, no one asked how he was feeling, even after he woke up, Gordon's eyes reflected nothing but fear, and by only remembering that, his chest started to hurt, putting a hand on it as he looked outside and opened the window just to feel well the air, he looked down, at the forest and the first floor of the building, and just thought to himself, why was it that everyone didn't liked him? Everyone was being themselves and so was him, but thinking back, so he was when he was back in school years ago, people bullying him and judging his ways of talk or dress, and now that the story was repeating itself was.. Sad.

Being that he was even making an effort to be friendly and not scary for anyone that talked to him, there were still people that didn't liked his way to act and talk, and even if he was something he couldn't really control, he really thought something would change, he did his best to stop being annoying, but it just seemed that nothing changed from him to other, just the same annoying guy that everyone thought he was, and aside from that having a friend with memories erased by the same kind of people that thought since the beginning that he was weird and immature, simply was making everything worse, knowing well he would never talk to the Gordon that he once knew, and couldn't force him to remember, and even if he tried enough, it was never going to be the same. He sat on the window as he let his legs move, looking down for a bit and then uo, he could see the stars he liked so bad to look at with Gordon when they were kids, looking for constellations, shooting stars, just a little something he liked to do, feeling so safe by his side, he was now afraid to the point to be even pushed down by him, something that wasn't really a surprise back when they were trying to escape from Black Mesa but now, after giving him all the information he needed, it wouldn't surprise him if he was suddenly pushed away, but again, his insecurities talked a lot for him and kept assuming reactions making his anxiety grow bigger and bigger, and honestly? He was tired of thinking like that, even if there was nothing he could do about it, he still hasn't managed how to fight with his own mind, and if he knew, he would've already done so years ago.  
He sat there for a long time, not saying a word, or a comment about the view, you could only hear the sound of the wind and the trees moving because of it, but he wasn't saying a word, there wasn't even movement coming from him, and even if it was concerning now that Gordon realized and wanted to go and comfort him, he thought that by doing that he would only make him uncomfortable and mad, he still didn't knew him really well, so he had no effective way to help him yet, and even if he wanted to try, he was way too anxious too do this right away, he just needed to think for a bit about the situation before doing something or risky or way too weird.

– Do you know where's Joshua? –Gordon finally asked after a long time of silence, out of pure curiosity.–

– Joshie? Oh he was probably taken by the police or military and are taking care of him, it would be way too low of them to kill an innocent kid so don't worry too much about it, you'll find him eventually, probably when we get to safety though, you just have to wait. –Benrey replied not making a way too out of context comment, still looking at the trees as he went back to his silent stare to the darkness that was making Gordon concerned.–

They didn't said a word until Benrey stood up and closed the window, still looking outside until he let out a sigh and turned around, looking at the other as he rested a bit on the wall and the window crossing his arms, his face was almost emotionless, even though he looked a bit angry as well, and that was only making Gordon scared, so even with the time he was looking at him, he just looked away trying to avoid looking at each other in the eyes, and at that point, Benrey was getting genuinely angry, so after a few seconds of just not saying a thing or thinking about anything, he walked up to him and walked on top of the bed, looking down at Gordon with an angry stare, the other looking up at him really nervous and trying to discretely stand up away from the bed, but let out a little screech when Benrey without thinking about it twice put his feet on the other's chest, making him stay put in that place and be obligated to look up to him.

– Listen well Feetman, if you keep acting like this everytime we're alone in a room, I'm going to make you sleep outside the like a lost puppy, is that okay? –He said with an almost monotonous tone, the only thing that could be seen well of his eyes was his yellow and glowy pupil, from the shadow that was covering half of his face. Gordon nodded, making Benrey smile.– Good. –He replied in a happy tone of voice and let himself fall besides him as he looked up.– Wanna know more stories about when we were in College? I'm pretty sure I haven't said much of those times. –Benrey added as he smiled.–

– No, no you haven't told me about that. –Gordon replied trying to sound normal as he still tried to calm himself down from what just happened.–

– Well then, I'll try to resume it a bit, but we're in for a ride. –He replied as he put both of his hands behind his head.–

Since Gordon and Benrey both were going to the same university, they spent a lot of time together either going to parties or messing something up by accident in the middle of the night, even knowing they were both old enough to be mature, when they had free time or vacations, everything about being mature didn't counted to him and a lot of people there, though of course some other's were completely focused in their studies and that was alright, since they already had enough of a fun time being together while studying, they had enough time to goof around without having to spend all their day and night doing that. Before Gordon met the girl he started dating with, he and Benrey decided to go on their free week to a pub that was arcade themed, so of course since they were old enough to drink they decided to go there after saving up for a while, so after they had their reservations they just went ahead and walked inside going to the table they reserved, both asking for videogame themed food and alcoholic drinks, they started drinking and talking about things they did when they were kids and before they met each other, aside from talking about actual stuff and laughing because of it, then after talking for a while and drinking, finishing their food as well, Gordon stood up first, walking to the arcade games being followed by the other as well, both laughing and playing against each other aside from Benrey making comments from time to time making the other laugh as advantage to win the game, of course it worked some times but with that Gordon walked up to him and started tickling the other in order to make him laugh, and of course that worked but they ended up chasing each other for fun as well, being careful to not bump onto other people, that, until Benrey accidentally got distracted and bumped onto someone anyways, falling and touching his chest for a bit until he looked up slightly flushed.

– Oh shit, I'm so sorry! –Benrey said, being helped by the other to stand up as Gordon catched up.–

– Holy fuck, we're so sorry, we got a little carried away. –Gordon said as he gasped a bit and walked up to them, Benrey stepped back a bit from the other to be next to his friend.– We can invite you a drink! As an apology, of course. –

– Uh, sure, why not? –The man said with a smile and followed them to the open bar.–

They sat on the row, Benrey sitting in the middle of them as he smiled slightly and trying to flush his worries and anxiousness away, but of course being him was the hardest thing to do as well, even trying his best to talk the words couldn't get out of his mouth, and of course, Gordon knowing him well just hugged him as he talked to the other guy and called for some drinks.  
They remained talking for minutes until Benrey was able to feel comfortable enough to jump in the conversation, and so they talked and had more drinks, just telling some jokes and things that has happened to them without revealing way too much information about their past and personal life as well, since at that point, giving out information about their childhood and family wasn't something you should do when you're just meeting someone or just having a simple talk with a stranger as well, since they didn't even knew his name, that was just a casual conversation.  
After talking for a while about just whatever came to their minds being videogames or series just to see if they all had something in common, at one point the man looked at his watch and let out a sigh.

– Sorry, I need to go, It was fun talking to you guys though! –He said as he smiled, taking the last sip of his beverage and looking back at the others.–

– Oh yeah, sorry for bumping onto you, I got distracted. –Benrey said scratching his neck for a bit.–

– Wait, before you go, you haven't told us your name and neither us, so better introduce ourselves for a bit, my name is Gordon Freeman, and this is my friend, Benrey. –The taller said as he hugged his friend with a wide smile on his lips as he fixed his glasses a bit as well.–

– Pleasure to meet you, my name is Barney Calhoun. –He said as he stood up and fixed his jacket and shirt a bit.– Well! I have things to do, hope we meet again. –Barney added letting out a small chuckle and then walking away from them.– Goodbye! –

They both waved goodbye to the man, slightly turned around and the smaller let out a sigh and put his head on his friend's chest as he calmed himself down, the conversation drained him a bit and it was getting really late, almost feeling uncomfortable by the clothes he was wearing wanting to wear his pajamas again, he looked up to Gordon and smiled a bit, feeling really relieved by seeing him smile back.

– Do you wanna go back to the campus? –Gordon asked as he put his hand on the other's forehead, moving his hair aside to look at his unusual eyes.–

– Yeah, I need to recharge for a bit, and it seems that you lost perception of time again, it gotta be.. Like 7PM? –Benrey replied with his eyes half closed as he extended them up to put them on Gordon's hair and mess with it a bit as he laughed slightly, receiving almost the same answer by him.–

– Okay then, let's go. –

They stood up after a minute, stretching a bit as Benrey yawned and accidentally bit his lip and hurting himself a bit due to his sharp teeth, complaining of it for a bit under his breath until it didn't hurted much, still with his hand on his lip, they both walked out of the place and walked back to the campus, going to a mini market on the way to get some sodas and a few things to eat and have just in case in the mini bar they had in their room, so after getting that and with a grumpy and tired Benrey growling at the people that looked at him wrong, they walked back to the campus, taking a while to finally get to their room but once they did, Benrey took off his hoodie and immediately jumped to the bed, being following shortly after by Gordon that closed the door and quickly put the food in place, letting out a sigh as they looked at the roof, the long haired raised his hands a bit, only to stretch and try not to fall asleep, but no matter how hard he tried he had a friend that almost had the complex of a cat, so after yawning and rubbing his eye a bit, Benrey hugged him and put his head on the other's chest, letting him take off his beanie and play with his hair for a bit.

After being there for a bit, they both fell asleep but ended up waking up at 6AM, being their free week a chance to be able to wake up later than usual, that morning start wasn't what they expected. Benrey was looking at the roof, as he stopped telling the story with a nostalgic stare inside his eyes and a little smile on his lips, holding his own hands together on top of his stomach as he closed them for a bit, then turned his head to see the other, at that point not even being surprised as the why he looked so confused about the story he told, but again, neither him trusted his word, no one did, so it was maybe just a fairy tale for Gordon, although his memories were very vivid of the time they spended together, he wished there was a way to show him everyth he thought about him and the memories he had.

– Not impressed huh? One time the lights cut off and you walked out of the shower naked because you couldn't find your glasses, AND there wasn't a towel there. –Benrey said with a smile.–

– YOU WHAT!? –Gordon screamed really nervous, blushing slightly as he looked at the younger.–

– Bro, cmon, why did you thought I reacted so calmly to the dick slip? Doesn't surprises me. –He replied still with that smile as he looked to the roof again and closed his eyes.–

Gordon looked up the roof, not knowing if he should believe or not, because there were some fragments going back to his memories, he could remember bits of that date and talking to that man, but the memories of Benrey were still blurry, though they were slowly coming back, he could only see a shadow like figure that was making him really scared to remember, he had a bad feeling, like his mind refused to remember him, of course it wouldn't surprise him if he had to let his brain rest more to be able to remember better, being in dreams or by Benrey's stories and words, he would slowly put all the pieces of the puzzle together, because even if he had the fear to remember, he had the feeling that it was something he would eventually had to overthrow, liking it or not, it was better to remember than forget someone that's trying his best to be better.

They didn't said much after that, but Benrey opened his eyes to see the other, that still had a slight blush on his cheeks, he played with his fingers for a bit as he looked down briefly to his own hands, then looked back at the other and slowly moved closer to him, and of course he realized, but didn't said a thing about it, just stared at him doing that, although he jumped a bit with when he felt Benrey's hand on his arm, gulping as he knew well there wasn't much he could do, because it was almost the only way to fight that fear, closing his eyes for a bit, he remained silent as he felt how Benrey hugged him close and put his head on his shoulder, not looking at him at that point, but leaving his eyes closed and trying to sleep. The long haired opened his eyes, looking down at him for a bit and then up to the roof again, staying almost motionless until it was way too cold for him to just stay outside of the covers, so trying to move and turn off the lamp on the night table and cover themselves up with a blanket, moving a bit to make himself comfortable and then try to sleep, even if his heart was beating horribly fast and his breathing was getting messy because of it as well, he could still sleep, he just wishre that Benrey wasn't someone of move way too much, being because of recent events he needed a good night sleep, aside that he couldn't wait to get to said house and finally recover mentally from all he had to go through and probably losing his sanity at that point, but at least he's cried enough.


	13. Hurry up!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy has an episode on the way to the city, and to that the team decided to stay there for the day.

The sun was brightly shining on a brand new morning, the curtains being half open, the long haired slowly opened his eyes, remaining still once he felt some weight towards his body, letting out a sigh as he remembered about what happened last night, he already had the feeling that he won't be moving any time soon, but at least it wasn't that late and still had some time to sleep according to the clock and what Bubby and Coomer told them about that day's plan, since they were getting closer every time and had around three days of road time, or even less, and just thinking about that was making him feel more relaxed, that roadtrip would be over soon and couldn't be so happy about it, finally being able to rest and relax all they wanted, and a house in the middle of a forest that they would have a chance to recover and rest was the best idea there could be, of course that was Coomer idea and he was grateful that the house exists in the first place, of course even if they had to work on a lot of things once they got there, at least it was something more fun than having to kill people or run away from the military, of course thinking that they will be left alone at that point. After a few minutes of waiting and looking at the roof, he was about to close his eyes for a few more minutes when he felt Benrey moving a bit on his chest, with that he opened his eyes wide again and looked at the other, reaching for his glasses and putting them on to look at him better, with that, the other realizing the movement, he stretched a bit and yawned, impulsing himself up a bit but then laying down again on the other's chest, opening his eyes as he looked up at him and smiled slightly, Gordon smiling back still with the nervousness as last night, but of course he was happy to not wake up tied or with a knife on his leg or that suddenly his other hand was missing, and even if he was told to trust, he was sure the others, except Tommy had the same insecurities about him.

\- Is not late, right? -Benrey asked as he scratched his hair a bit.-

\- Not really, we can stay here a bit longer if you want but we still need to get ready. -The other replied as he put his head slowly on the other's hair, looking at the smaller shrug a bit at that action, confused by that as well, he still let him do that anyways as he closed his eyes.-

\- Well then.. Let's get up. -Benrey replied with his eyes closed as he held Gordon's hand, slightly opening his eyes and looking at him as he smiled showing his fangs a bit.-

Benrey took Gordon by the hand and then stood up, still a bit sleepy and his legs shaky, he helped him to get up once and for all as well, walking to get their stuff and dress properly to go out, Benrey changing his pajama shorts to his normal pants and putting on his beanie again, meanwhile Gordon was brushing his hair and throwing himself some water to wake up properly and not be dizzy and uncomfortable all the road, then putting on his shirt as he fixed it enough so it doesn't looks really messy, and then tied his hair again and leaving the typical two hairs out, because no matter how much he fixed his hair those two will always be out. Once they finished getting ready, there was a few knocks on the door, and Gordon looking at the clock walked to open ot, being Bubby the one outside and already wearing his normal clothes, of course as he closed his arms and looked down at him.

\- We need to go, now. -He said as he fixed the neck of his sweater.- There's a probability that they're still following us and know where we are, we need to be quick, so, we're taking a different way. -

\- Wait, how do you know that? -Gordon asked as he tried to maintain his voice calmed as Benrey walked up to them with his shorts on his hands.-

\- Tommy told us, and since he's the most trustful person there is and we've known him for years, he's talking the truth. He woke up earlier than us and came up with a plan, let's go. -Bubby replied, walking to the elevator to go down stairs since the others were already down, and they were the only ones left to go.-

Benrey and Gordon looked at each other and then rushed inside to get their bags, grabbed the keys of the room, making sure they weren't leaving something there, they quickly walked out, closes the door behind them and walked to the elevator to go downstairs, and once they were there, looking at the others standing up, they all walked outside, heading to the car and opening the trunk to leave the bags there, then after the trunk was closed and everyone was already in, being Sunkist on Tommy's legs as he was really protective, Bubby started the car and to the road they went, and this time, Tommy was looking at a map meanwhile Coomer was doing the same, trying to find a new road or a shortcut, but even of they tried to avoid the city that was ahead of them, it was still a fundamental place they had to go through in order to get the shortest way, because if they went through a new way, meaning the long way, they would take even more time to get there, adding a day or two to their journey and they were way too tired, so, they would have to find a side road to the city and avoid the military as much as they could, of course assuming they wouldn't put a base in the middle of the forest or something related. Eventually, after a few minutes of being on the road, they found the side road through the forest, and even if Bubby doubted for a few seconds if he should go in or not, he finally pressed the pedal and dived into the unknown forest that was supposed to keep them away from the camps and controls in the road, although that would make everyone even more suspicious of them, at least they could sneak into the city without being noticed thanks to how crowded it was, and escape from there before someone snitched on them.

Meanwhile, somewhere not too far away from the city or from them, there was a military camp on the other side of the road, they got there not long ago, that was one of the reasons everyone was running around and putting up camps as well with plugging lights to an electricity generator, others were guarding the area and shooting at head crabs that managed to follow them and some other things, they were the last and only group that was following the science team, and the ones that's been causing a lot of controversy inside the military, but at that point they were working alone, since it's been a while since the headquarters said anything back to them or even picked up calls, so they thought the best thing to do was follow the science team and kill them, for killing their friends and being main suspects of the Resonance Cascade, so they decided to camp there and come up with new plans aside from what to do when they finally get to them, but, everyone except for the general on the group were almost lifeless, following the code and doing what they were supposed to do, but at the same time slowly breaking apart and getting stuck on some places, sentences or thoughts, becoming more and more self aware as the time passed by, but that not being a good way, it was a Coomer kind of way, but instead of covering it with jokes and thankfully having something to distract himself with, for them, it was extremely painful and sad, every step was an agony, every word, action, not even for their fallen comrades, but simply for being alive, their existence was nothing but pain, and as they tried to get rid of it they kept following the plan, thinking that the pain would go away once and for all if they followed the code, but at the same time it was breaking them more and more, questioning their sanity every day, as they looked at their general with confusion and pain, "Why is he still acting normal?" Or "Does he not feel pain?" But of course, none of those questions were directly asked to him, so while everyone was suffering, he smiled and laughed at his plans, feeling nothing but joy because of being so close to the objective, of course, with that he cared about nothing but revenge, so even if his whole squad was feeling pain and dying on the way, he barely cared about it, he only cared about succeeding, and luckily, they were close to doing so, but aside from that, some sacrifices had to be made, because what was the point if they didn't made sacrifices?

After a few minutes everything was strangely already done, while everyone was waiting for new orders as they tried to hide their pain, although some of them couldn't handle it and decided that instead of standing still under the sun, they walked to their camps and layed on the floor, hugging themselves as they tried their best to get rid of the pain or simply comfort themselves so it doesn't feels as bad, meanwhile the general had a big map on top of a table, the map had a lot of red circles and dots connecting to one another, aside from the photos of the science team and Benrey to one side, on the paper there were a lot of knife and scratch marks on the sides, not interrupting much on the main notes, but still looked really messed up. When the general was having troubles with anger or desperation by not being able to find the team, no one really dared to walk inside, no matter what, he could scratch the material of the camp with a knife and then they had to put everything together, or find a way to calm him down from the outside and that was trying to avoid knifes that were throwing at them, but for now, he was luckily calm, they noticed changes on him, he looked even more confident than usual, they thought that with that the mission was really close to end and that their pain would finally be over, but no one knew what would happen in the near future, they just followed order and thought about the present, even if the pain was messing with their minds, they just weren't feeling good enough to reason.  
As for the science team, they had to stop for a few minutes because at that point they had to check the area to avoid getting lost and just check the map again correctly to make sure that they weren't lost in the first place, but that road was feeling like years and they weren't even half way there. According at least to Tommy that was closely analyzing the map, they were in the right way, but the entrance they were supposed to go through once they got there was blocked, as for there was a warning on the map just in that place, so, it was not take the warnings and go there anyways, or find the secone entrance, and since Bubby was Bubby and could control fire and melt anything, of course they would take the same road they were going to the supposed broken entrance, because they weren't going to find them easily in a crowded place. They went back inside the car waiting for Tommy that was walking around his dog, and of course that was for a few minutes and calm himself down, and then went inside the car for his dog to jump on his lap then close the door, and they were ready to go, strangely enough, no one was saying a single word, being way too concentrated on making sure they would get there safely, Benrey had his eyes closed but not sleeping, he still could use some of his powers that didn't involved pain or creating stuff out of nowhere, and of course that would help the team as well, and he wanted to give a good impression about him not being the same he was back in Black Mesa, but of course, gaining the trust of the same people you betrayed wasn't something really easy to do, for more than it looked like that, no matter how hard he tried, he knew Bubby and Coomer being both really close had almost the same opinions and issues, and since he betrayed Bubby the worst of ways, playing with his trust, it could be his fault that he has trust issues as well, and not that he wanted to scare them by acting so different towards the two of them, but he really wanted to make a change, he didn't knew how much longer they had or just, he mostly didn't knew what would happen in the future if there was one, they were just running away for their own benefits, not planning on fighting for now, so of course if everything was going alright and to the plan, he maybe would have the chance to apologize to the both of them, and luckily they still had time enough to do everything they wanted to do, being that they were all together and if something happened they would fight together as well, nothing was going to separate the team again, because they were stronger being close to each other, and that showed.

Meanwhile at the camp, there wasn't much movement like when they first got there, almost everyone was inside their camps or walking around the perimeter, everything was quiet, even more than usual, even the ones that were standing right outside of the general's camp, even he was quiet, no one really knew what was going on inside, but it was sealed from the inside, so no one could go inside in the first place. Then minutes passed, and almost an hour, until someone ran to the camp from the forest with some papers on his hands, standing outside the camp with a smile on his face as he told the others what he found, then eventually, the doors of the camp opened, the general standing right there with a serious stare at the smaller, being almost intimidating even of they didn't really feared him, but this time, something was off. He gave the papers to the general as he stood straight and tried to vanish his nervousness.

– Sir! We found some movement on the other side of the forest, we might have found them this time! –He said with a smile on his face as he looked at how the other was looking through the papers and pictures they took, it was a whole inform about the probability to where they were going and how they were following them from the distance to not lose them from view.–

He kept on looking through the papers as he walked inside the camp with a little smile on his face, walking to the map as he wrote a few things down on it as well, laughing a bit as he realized the side road to the city, that was almost hidden from him, feeling angry at how he let that go being something so obviously, but happy that at least they knew where they were and were going as well, but they had to come up with a strategy, they didn't had something really elaborated prepared, and being that they were more powerful than that whole group, they had to prepare. He walked out of the camp after a few minutes, he still had a serious expression on his face, not even a slight smile, making the other think that it wasn't enough, feeling nothing but fear as he saw him approaching him, even flinching a bit until he felt his hand on his shoulder.

– You did a good job. –The general said to then walk to a camp, but before he was way too far away to be heard, he say some last words.– Call a meeting, we'll be moving tomorrow morning. – Could be heard, as he walked away.–

All of the suddenly, there was a lot of movement, everyone getting out of their camps to train and other talking about what strategy they thought they would use, other were already cleaning their guns and making sure they were ready, but everyone was happy, even with knowing that they could easily die in that fight, they thought, at least it was better than live a life full of pain and suffering. So meanwhile they were talking here and there, the General was having a reunion with the higher commands that were there, or well the ones he chose to follow him, discussing about what movement they could do, how to approach, what to use and others, since they were going only for the science team, they had to avoid getting any innocent person involved as well, but with how the general was, it wasn't going to surprise them if they killed more innocent people than trying to catch the team, of course they would have to try to keep him at a limit, but they couldn't assure that no innocent person was going to die, at least not by the hands of the others but the General, and that wasn't a really good sign, but there was nothing they could do about it anyways.  
The team was already getting close to the first entrance, as they looked outside the window at the trees and whatever was there as well, there was even an abandoned house that Benrey looked at for a while, thinking they could stay there for the day, but thinking about it well, being so close to civilizatio, that wasn't the best plan, although the house looked really good to stay and not intimidating at all, at least from his view, it was risky to stay in a place that was really close to people that could easily see them and report them, so of course, better to not stay in a place like that, and as the minutes passed, they finally got to the first entrance, Bubby stopping the car to check if it was open looking through the window, until he stepped out to check better, realizing that it was locked, but moving a few plants to look what was on the other side, he could see a long road and a few sights of the place from afar, but realizing that it could be guarded, he walked back to the car and let out a sigh as he started the engine.

– We'll have to go the other way, this one is way too risky. –He said as he started driving again, following the road.–

– Let's just hope the other doesn't has many people, or that at least connects to a different road. –Coomer said.– Because at least here says that is connected to other roads, so we can sneak inside safely that way. –He added as he looked at what he wrote down.–

– Well, let's hope the luck is on our side then. –The other replied as he looked at the road, being careful that he doesn't hits a rock by accident.–

Suddenly Tommy started feeling really nervous, looking outside as his breathing started getting out of control and moved his leg trying to calm himself down, he had a really bad feeling, and was starting to feel dizzy and really sick as well, almost feeling like crying, at first no one realized because of the noise, but there was a moment that Bubby looked back through the glass and quickly stopped the car, Tommy almost screaming by hoe sudden he was, accompanied that got scared as well, started crying as he hugged his dog, the older quickly walked out of the car and to the side the other was, opening the window as he kneel on the floor and opened his arms to hug him and give him a few pats on the back, but Tommy after a few seconds forced himself out of the car and indicated to his throat, then Bubby realizing what happened, helped him to get out of the car and walked a few steps away from them, Coomer walked out as well as Gordon and Benrey looked at each other confused, they walked out as well to see what was happening.  
Tommy was hyperventilating, as he grabbed his own stomach and tried to catch air as he cried, being scared of not being able to breathe and his dizziness, he couldn't think correctly, he wasn't feeling well, he felt like if he got shot right in the chest, even standing up was a big deal, he just felt so much bottled up, an uncomfortable and horrible feeling, and wanting to cry non stop, he almost started screaming at one point because of how much it was, his hands were shaking, and his eyes were already getting red, finally he dropped to his knees as everyone tried to comfort him, even Sunkist was trying but it was in vain, he didn't knew what to do and was making him sad as well, making noises and almost barking as he tried to get on his arms so his human could hug him, but he didn't really wanted something like that in those moments, so the others instead of hugging him, Coomer started giving him pats on the back, Gordon walked to the car and open the trunk to get a blanket and cover him with it, and Benrey reached to get a soda and a Twinkie aside from a cookie to give them to the other, everyone now sitting on the floor with him as they were patient enough and let him get everything out, then after a few minutes, he slowly stopped crying, looking at everyone with tears on his eyes, that kept falling down, but not as much as the beginning, he let out a shaky sigh as he took the soda and the food to slowly start eating it as he tried to stop crying, he even let out some tears as he ate, which Coomer and Bubby responded to giving him a few pats on the back and the head, then after sobbing for a little bit after finishing the food, he slowly started to feel better once he realized everyone was there, then just smiled as he reached for his own necklace and grabbed it carefully to bring himself more comfort, letting himself be hugged as he smiled and reached for Sunkist that was worried as well.

After a few minutes of sitting down and giving Tommy comfort enough to make him feel better aside from Bubby talking to him about what happened and making questions that Tommy didn't really wanted to reply, but the answer to almost all of them was that something was feeling off and that made him feel dizzy and paranoid, then after talking for a bit, they all stood up, helping the taller to get up and go back to the car, Benrey helping him a bit to walk to the car in case he tripped, and of course Sunkist following them, getting inside the car and letting him sit down, still between Gordon and Tommy, he hugged both of them as he smiled, both of them having their heads on Benrey shoulders as he smiled and gave them head pats. Bubby started the car and continued driving to the other entrance, going really slow and careful at first just to not startle Tommy, but eventually after a while he started going faster to get there soon enough and find a place to stay, and of course that would be a day wasted but he was more concerned about his mental health than getting to a house that was three days away, so even if they didn't liked the idea really much, he cared about his family and that they were doing okay, of course he knew how to calm them both, but with minor episodes, and this one was heavier than usual, meaning they needed that day to take care of themselves and rest. Finally they got to the entrance and went inside the city, and as usual, it was full of people on the streets, desperate as they tried to call more people through the phone, even if the lines were down, although it was a probability that they didn't even knew that, even if they were in the middle of no where, there was a lot the media wasn't telling to the citizens, and they almost felt guilty for not saying a thing, but for their own safety, it was better to keep it down, because they were already being suspicious enough, but at least they weren't on the TV and being looked for worldwide, they had enough with the military, they didn't needed a whole country looking for them. They slowly drove around there, looking at the streets, and luckily it wasn't as full as it was the last place, and the hotels weren't as full since people were actually letting families live with them for the time being, so they parked on the parking lot of an hotel and walked to get at least a room, but luckily there were two again, although really far apart from each other, and not that it was much of a problem but of course ot would be if they had an emergency or needed to inform something. They got the keys and then walked to their respective rooms, Benrey and Gordon hugging Tommy before getting out of the elevator on their floor and walking to where they needed to go, it was all clean, and at least it didn't had the same energy the last place had, and they were lucky because of that, but of course, not even a nice place could change their energy, even if they really couldn't be themselves in a place full of people like that. They all got to their rooms and just layed on the bed without having much to do, of course they could go out and walk around but they would have to tell the others for them to go just in case something else happened and Tommy needed help again or any other thing, but for now, he was sleeping as he hugged his dog just to rest better.  
As for the others, they weren't doing much, they could hear the sound of the people talking even screaming as they walked around the town, even car honks could be heard too and it wasn't even such a big place, and even if Tommy could peacefully sleep with those noises, for them it was kind of tiring when they didn't even wanted to sleep, even Benrey was really awake and it was something rare since normally he would sleep almost all day, but now, he was more awake than never, and even Gordon not remembering really well thought that was rare, both laying down on the bed, just like last night, they were staring at the roof, not saying much but little comments about everything and concerns, of course a day off was always a good thing but in that situation it was just.. Kind of boring, they needed the adrenaline of running away, even if they had enough being right next to the enemy and unnoticed, anything they did, every store they found and broke in was a crime of course, they had their hands dirty enough to be noticed and yet, for some reason they haven't found them yet and that was scary. Benrey sat down as he let out a sigh and took of his hoodie and beanie, standing up to then check if there was any VHS player there, since there was a TV there, he thought they could watch a movie to pass the time and not do the boring thing as always, he opened the closet and found a player on the back, so he took it and connected it to the TV, making a VHS appear on his hand, then looking back at Gordon with a smile.

– How about we watch a movie? –He said as he put the VHS in the player anyways and backed up to grab the remote control and sit on the bed.–

– What movie are we watching then? –Gordon asked as he sat on the bed and hugged his legs, looking at the other for a few seconds to then look at the TV.–

– We're, fucking, uhh.. Watching Friday the 13th. –He replied as he stood up again and walked to close the curtains and then walk again to the bed and sit down, now the room was a bit more darker than it already was, and since it wasn't night time they couldn't really have a pitch black room, but at least that was enough.–

Gordon shrug and started looking at the TV almost scared, not that he didn't liked horror movies but sometimes he could be easily scared, even now being an adult, those kind of movies didn't gave him a good thing to remember, so when Benrey noticed his expression, he hugged him, catching the other almost by surprise by how sudden that was, both smiled at each other and Gordon just let it be, putting his head on the other's shoulder as he looked at the TV, the other almost melting by how he was acting with him, almost feeling comfort by his smile, he normally didn't even smiled with him, only laughed but never a sincere smile, and now, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic by it, almost getting his hope back, yeah, it would never be the same, but who said that changes were a bad thing? They watched the movie even until the end, Benrey was almost unimpressed, since he's seen the movies more than once, but if Gordon forgot, of course he could've forgotten bits as well, and when it ended, he looked down at his friend, asking if he was okay if they watched another movie now that it was over, replying that it was okay, Benrey stood up to take the vhs out and put a new one, but this time he didn't said what it was, which was strange for the long haired, so making himself comfortable there, saw how the new tape was going in, the other walking back to him and sitting besides him.

– This one is fine, is not a horror one, but, I forgot to tell you, this one is not even a movie, I guess. –Benrey said as he scratched the back of his head a bit.–

– What are you planning? –Gordon asked as he looked at him with a smile, until the TV started giving out noises, and with that they both looked at it.–

It was a homemade tape, the voice of a woman could be heard, she was actually recording, leaving the camera on a higher point and pointing to a door as they hid, then after about a minute the door opened, it was both Gordon and Benrey just walking in the house with a few bags as they laughed, but suddenly when quiet as they saw the lights off, then when they turned them on everyone popped from outside of their hiding places, Gordon almost jumping out of fear until he realized amd smiled, Benrey looked happy as well, leaving their bags to the side on the couch and then they both went up to hug Gordon's mom as she reached for the camera and while she laughed a bit he pointed it at them She asked as they looked at each other and then back at her Gordon said. Benrey said as he laughed and his friend followed. The long haired said with a smile as he looked at his friend, then realized something and looked around Her mom said as she smiled, giving them the camera and then going to a room to go get Joshua, holding him on her arms and then gave him to Benrey, that was smiling as he looked at him, Gordon giving back the camera to say hi to his son with a smile on his face as well. Joshua was smiling and laughing as he looked at both of them, playing with Gordon's beard and grabbing Benrey's hair She said, Gordon looking at the camera for a few seconds then go back to his son Gordon said. Benrey said with a smile, the long haired laughed as a reply and nodded with his head. Gordon's mom said and they started walking to the backyard, she was still with the camera, recording everything and even the people that were there, some they knew and some other they didn't even remembered about, they still tried to talk to almost everyone or as much as they could, talking about they did all those years and how difficult it was or their routines as well, although Gordon didn't really wanted to mention his ex girlfriend for obvious reasons, since he already talked about it with his family, it was enough surprise going home one vacation and with a kid on his arms, aside from talking for hours about it, at least they accepted to take care of him while they were in university, so of course meanwhile some people thought that Joshua was a surprise, to their family it was already something more than normal, but of course, there was people that questioned it at first, since some of them didn't knew Benrey well, they thought that they adopted Joshua together, until of course Gordon's mom just told them what was goi on, not really mentioning the ex directly but indirectly, since she didn't even knew her but already didn't liked her. The whole footage was about the party, at first Benrey was getting really shy about it, wanting to already take out the VHS, but when he realized that Gordon was looking directly at it, just looked down and played with his fingers, looking then up again to the TV, but this time, it was a different scene in the same tape.  
They were on a park, Gordon playing with Joshua as Benrey recorded how they walked, pointing down, sometimes to the sky and other times just bugging Gordon a bit, giving him the camera and holding Joshua on his shoulders, grabbing carefully his hands as he ran around with him and laughed, and the long haired followed him scared and desperate just to make sure he didn't let his son fall, but Joshua was having fun as well, he was laughing too, even more at Gordon's desperate and scared voice, even though Benrey was laughing as well, then the tape cut when Gordon let the camera fall and it could be seen how he ran at them and eventually Benrey took Joshua off his shoulders and handed him to Gordon, they were both laughing and eventually he took him after getting his breath and the short haired just kissed his cheek, distracting him from getting angry at him for no reason, then when he realized about the camera he started laughing again Benrey said as he walked up to the camera and once he grabbed it, he stopped recording.

Suddenly the tape stopped, and the VHS just came out of the box, and the room immediately was silent, not saying a single word, Gordon was still looking at the TV while Benrey looked down, he didn't even wanted to say a word, just, nothing, he didn't had words, he felt a knot on his throat and the other was just, thinking, about he just saw, feeling his heart beat horribly fast, he didn't had much words too, but those memories became even more clearer now that he saw that, but he just didn't knew how to react. Benrey stood up to get the tape and making it disappear again, turning off the TV as well as he looked at it for a few seconds to then turn around and see Gordon with a little blush on his cheeks.

– I.. I wanted you to see Joshua, since you don't remember much about him. –Benrey said as he looked away as he talked, not really realizing that Gordon stood up, and was walking up to him.– Or well, me, I thought it would be appropriate to –He stopped talking, being interrupted once he looked at his direction again, he was standing right in front of him, almost being scared by how close he actually was. – Gordon? –

Gordon stood still there for a few seconds, almost doubting if he should do what he was about to do, but his body almost moved automatically, grabbing the other by the collar of his shirt and pulling him closer into a sudden kiss, that at first tensed up to, not really believing what was going on until he slowly started calming down, giving himself in to it as he slowly closed his eyes and held himself to Gordon, that slowly moved his hands to his cheeks as he closed his eyes as well, then after a few seconds of just letting themselves go on that kiss they pulled back just to be able to breathe, at that point they didn't realized that they spent hours watching footage and movies, the room was almost dark, the sun didn't pointed on their direction anymore, and now they were just, standing there, almost in the dark, staring at each other, without saying a single word, of course, catching their breath at first but aside from that, they didn't really had much to say about what just happened.

– What was that about huh? –Benrey asked with a huge blush on his cheeks as he looked at him with a nervous smile.–

– I.. I don't really know. –He replied laughing softly and nervously, but not taking away his hand of Benrey's cheeks.–

– You're really fucking stupid. –Benrey replied with a smile and reached for his neck to hug him and pull his lips together again, smiling between that kiss as he closed his eyes once again.–

Meanwhile on the other room, Coomer and Bubbh were getting ready to go out, since Tommy had Sunkist they thought nothing bad would happen, so they were going to walk around and see what was going on to plan better the next day that they had to go, so they got out of the room with the keys and took the elevator to the first floor, walking then outside of the building on to the street, walking on the side as well with other people as they saw the cars pass by, they were talking to eachother as they looked at a lot of closed stores and large lines of people wanting to get food, the situation was almost sad, but then again, there wasn't much they could actually do about it, so they kept on walking, being sad at how much desperation there was around and how worse it would be if they knew the truth about the evacuation. As they walked, Coomer eventually noticed a familiar figure waiting on a line with his arms closed, squinting his eyes a bit just to see better, he smiled, realizing who it was, then pulled Bubby by the hand and ran to the other side.

– Darnold! –Coomer said raising his hand on the air to have his attention with so much noise around, and luckily he got it.–

When he realized he was being called, confused at first he looked around, until he finally saw Coomer and smiled brightly, even his eyes were shining from happiness.

– Guys! You're here! I thought I was too far behind! –Darnold said, not moving much from the line, talking once they were close enough.–

– Hey, is really good to see you, how are you doing? –Bubby said as he smiled slightly and with Coomer they followed Darnold now that the line was moving a bit.–

– It's been going just fine! I'm really lucky that they've been nice with me, though is a bit rare of course, but I'm here at least! How is Tommy doing? Is he doing okay? –He asked at last in a lower voice as he smiled back, hugging the closed bag he was holding.–

– Oh he's doing just fine, but, today was a bit difficult for him, we weren't supposed to stay here longer, only to get to the other side and get going but, he, he had an episode, and we had to stay here.. You could go see him and discuss things better there hm? I mean, considering that we won't have snitches inside, being outside is risky now you know? –Coomer said as he was still grabbing Bubby by the arm, not really strong but keeping him in place enough.– You could stay for the night too, I'm pretty sure he'd love to see you! How about that? –He added with a smile.–

– Oh, after I get these things, you guys can wait outside and I'll follow you to the place, I'd love to see Tommy now. –He said with a little blush on his cheeks, being distracted then by the line moving and his turn to go in.– Well, it's my turn! See you in a few minutes! –He said now as he walked in and waved at them.–

Coomer and Bubby were standing outside, staring at him going in with a smile on their faces, walking to a side that there wasn't much people and looked at the streets as they waited, everything was really full, almost running out of food or having limited amount for people to grab, or pre made bags of the necessary at first, of course you could grab something necessary just like that, but inside everyone was almost fighting and screaming at eachother in order to get what they needed in order to survive, but of course, for Darnold, fighting was something he wanted to avoid doing, so as everyone fighted and screamed to eachother, he was getting everything he needed inside of the bag, ignoring other people and walking to now the cash machine to pay for what he got, of course that was a longer process since there were lines to pay too, but after 10 minutes he payed for everything and walked out of the store, watching how Coomer and Bubby were talking, he interrupted them for a bit to say that he was done, and then they all walked to the hotel they were staying at, walking on the way about what was going on, since Darnold has been there a bit longer than them, and everyone has already been talking about rumors and others, saying that there was a zombie invasion, or that they put a chip on everyone in the military, simply not trusting already what they told all of them, and of course, maybe none of their theories were right, but it wasn't a total lie that what they were telling all of them wasn't true. After a while of walking and talking they got to the place and went directly to the elevator to their room, talking as well while they were walking to the room, until they got there, stopping in front of the door as Bubby took the keys out.

– Before we go in, Tommy is probably still sleeping, so please keep it a bit down until he wakes up, let's hope he gets a bit better with you here. –Coomer said, looking at how the taller was opening the door.–

Darnold nodded and they walked inside the room, trying not to make much noise with closing the door and leaving the bags on the floor, walking to his bed and sitting next to it on the floor as he looked at him sleep, he just couldn't wait for him to wake up and hug him already, and of course he didn't wanted to bug him or wake him up or that would influence as well, and he wanted to see Tommy happy, not sleepy or sad, he just wanted to see his friend happy for once, and maybe that was the reason he was there, to make him happy, even if he wasn't there always, or because of running away they couldn't talk much, but he was trying his best as well, and he was sure Tommy appreciated.

– Hey Darnold? –Bubby asked, walking up to him after talking to Coomer about something.–

– Sorry, yeah? –Darnold said, turning to see the older.–

– Well, I was talking to Coomer, and it would be good if you followed us to the house we're going, since you're a mixologer that could come in handy, and since you've been buying your own food, meaning you'll have a few months just like us with food as well, why don't you come with us? I'm sure Tommy would like your stay, and he really needs comfort. –Bubby straight up said as he sat besides the Darnold.– So? What do you say? –

– I thought you said you didn't wanted me to go because there's not enough food. –Darnold said in a lower voice.–

– Well, we'll run out of food eventually, so it's not big of a deal, we'll have to make some eventually, and we'd love some help with that as well. –He replied.–

– Well then.. I didn't had anywhere to go so.. Why not! Yeah, count me in! –Darnold replied with a smile as he looked back at Tommy, that was starting to wake up by coincidence, almost hiding thinking it was his fault that he woke up, peaking up a bit as he saw Tommy slowly open his eyes and immediately look at him, almost unimpressed at first, until he blinked a few times and almost jumped by realizing he was really there.–

– Darnold!? –He said as he sat down, Sunkist immediately raising his head, confused by the sudden movement.–

– Hey! –Darnold replied as he opened his arms, Tommy immediately jumping on top of him to hug him as he let out a few tears of joy.– Woah! You're really happy to see me! –

– I was so concerned! I thought something happened to you! I missed you so much! –The taller replied as he looked at the other after hugging him, helping him sit down since they were both on the floor.– How have you been doing? Have they done something? Did the military found out you worked at Black Mesa and you managed to escape? Or are you safe? Please tell me you're safe. –Tommy said as he looked at him with puppy eyes.–

– Don't worry, I'm doing fine actually! I'll come with you guys, so like that we all will be together and I can help with the purifier and the food! Of course potions are easier to make, that'll keep us alive as well, so take in count, I won't leave your side now. –Darnold replied with a smile as he scratched his neck a bit and looked at him.–

Tommy felt an immediate wave of happiness and stood up, holding him and hugged him as he raised him up in the air, eventually using the sweet voice as he walked in circles, Bubby and Coomer looked at them with a smile on his face, they were happy that Tommy was finally feeling well and smiling, of course having someone else was going to be difficult at first, but after all, where they were going was a big place, it wasn't really a bother, they already knew they had to make more food because it would eventually run out everywhere. As time passed by Tommy and Darnold talked until late at night or until Bubby and Coomer already wanted to go to sleep, so they both layed down, talking in a lower voice to not bother the olders, and that until Sunkist got between them and eventually they both fell asleep, as for Gordon and Benrey, they went to sleep earlier, they both hugging each other and luckily without much interruptions, that was luckily a very good night for everyone in the team, they didn't knew that there was a curfew though, and not that they cared much since they didn't go out for safety reason, all they knew was that it was going to be necessary since they were getting out of there early in the morning, but what the didn't knew, is that by that time, the plan was already in action.

By the next morning, Bubby woke up first, yawning and standing up to get dressed already, then waking up the others one by one, telling them to get ready as he got out of the room and walked to the elevator to wake up Gordon and Benrey, getting to their level and room to knock on the door a few times, the long haired woke up and kissed the other's forehead to go answer the door, Bubby telling him to get ready since they were getting off soon, nodding as a reply and closing the door to go to the bathroom and throw some water on his face to wake up and put the rest of his clothes on, combing his hair and tying it as well putting on his glasses, walking to Benrey to wake him up carefully, giving him a kiss on the cheek to help wake him up, and as a reply the other made a few noises before slowly opening his eyes.

– Are we already going?.. –He asked, sitting down as he rubbed his eyes a bit.–

– Yeah, you can sleep on the car, don't worry. –Gordon replied, going to get their bags and getting everything that wasn't needed right at the moment there, meanwhile Benrey was getting dressed, looking at his helmet and putting it on instead of the beanie, it was a while since he last used it and it was really comfortable overall.– Ready? –

– Sure. –The other replied really tired as he yawned a bit, then taking the keys to get out of the room, close it and go down to the reception and give out the keys, since the others were already there, Benrey waved to Darnold a bit confused, smiling slightly anyway and then they all walked all of the hotel.–

The streets were really empty, more than usual, even if it was really early, it was weird for it so be so quiet and empty, there wasn't even a car on sight, it looked like an abandoned town, being so full of people and things the day they got there, the place being so desperate and restless and now, no one was on sight, and something was off, so at first, they decided to go with Darnold to the car and talk to him about the plan before they went to theirs and got out of there before something happened, and luckily the car wasn't really far away, so of course they were going with him just in case, but suddenly, when they were about to get to the car, they hear a lot of steps and cars, and from a second from another, they were surrounded by the military, everyone getting close to each other as they looked around in fear, and from that horde of people, someone familiar walked up to them, and when they realized the erratic movement, looking to where the stares were coming from, and they immediately froze, they just couldn't believe what they were looking at, not even a bit.

– Hey guys, It's good to see you here! Long time no see. –The person said as he smiled with both hands on his back.–

– Forzen.. You motherfucker. –Benrey said as he let his claws out and put himself in a defensive pose as his eyes started glowing.–

– I'm happy to see you too, Benrey. –Forzen said jokingly.– Well! It seems that you managed to get out before the whole place blew up! That's really nice, so lucky of you!. –He continued saying, as he walked in circles around them still with a bright smile on his face that was bugging and scaring the science team, Gordon already having his hand on his injured arm.– Looks like you guys had a whole plan going.. But I'm not that stupid, and for that, you all will pay for your crimes against humanity and the military, for ruining this country with your stupid experiment! –

Bubby was already having a fighting pose as well, letting his hands give out a bright and really intense fire as his eyes were giving out a really bright blue light, following Forzen with his eyes, how he eventually stopped in front of them, still with his arms behind his back, he eventually gave off a signal that made everyone around them point at them with their guns.

– There's not way you'll get out of this one, and that's for sure.. And I'll fucking kill everyone in this city if needed just to get rid of your stupid existence. –He said as he smiled from side to side, almost looking even more insane than he already was, and that was really scary.–

Eventually Coomer's eyes started glowing green, letting out a sigh as he started making some green screens appear and grew in size, knowing well what was about to happen, he gave Bubby a signal and he immediately started screaming, getting out of the circle as Coomer covered the other with the green screens and the taller started throwing fire at everyone around them, Forzen miraculously avoiding it as he rolled back and took out his gun, calling for reinforcements as well as he got it ready, Coomer broke the circle and started running at the more militaries that were getting closer to them, and as Tommy tried not to freak out, he concentrated and his eyes started glowing yellow, rolling up his sleeves as a circle appeared on one of his wrists and a green screen appeared on the other, that was slowly making his arm get green, making a green fire ball with his left arm and throwing them as he could see first, trying to protect Darnold meanwhile the others were getting Forzen distracted.

– Darnold run! NOW! –Tommy said, looking back for a few seconds.–

Forzen eventually heard what Tommy said, and quickly getting his gun ready, he loaded it and pointed it.

Then a shot could be heard.


	14. We'll be back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The science team has to fight the military after being surrounded, but something doesn't goes as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW/TW // Graphic depictions of violence, Blood, agonizing death. //

Suddenly, it was like if everything started going in slow motion from a second to another, feeling an intense pain on his back and chest, feeling his legs weak and fall over to the floor, grabbing his chest as he tried to breathe, he could only hear a really high pitch on his ears and having a really hard time trying to breathe as he coughed, lying face down as he tried to move and impulse himself to a position he could breathe, but everything was feeling weird and really lazy, barely being able to, he turned around, looking at the sky, hearing a distant laugh and gunshots aside from screams and explosions, he touched his chest, then looked at his hand and realized he was bleeding, being in shock for a few seconds, but now at that point, he even wanted to laugh, even if doing a slight movement hurted, he tried, but he kept coughing, realizing it was blood when a weird taste took over his mouth, he really thought nothing would happen to him, if he stayed out of it, he thought he would be safe and he would get to a better place with the others, but destiny had other plans for him, that weren't really of his liking.

– Darnold! –Tommy screamed as he rushed to his friend then slid on his knees close to him and gently took him onto his arms as he looked at him bleeding with fear.– No.. No, no you'll be fine! It's going to be okay, we'll patch you up! You.. –He kept saying as he started crying.–

On the background, Coomer once he realized what happened, was the first one to jump on top of Forzen after he took care of the others that were with him, punching him and slamming him onto the floor as he grunted and screamed angrily, and of course while that was happening, Darnold really couldn't hear much of it, he was just focused only on Tommy's words that eventually stopped, but even when he just stopped talking, he couldn't hear anything else.

– T-Tommy.. It's.. It's okay, yeah? I just.. I don't know why this is so funny. –Darnold replied in a really weak voice as he started to cry in silence, grabbing his chest since even it hurted to do that.–

– You're gonna be fine, just, hold on there a little longer, we'll get you to a hospital and well get you patched up, please.. –Tommy said as he closed his eyes and trying to hold himself back from crying as he held him close, then opened them after a few seconds when he felt the other's hand on his cheek, putting his on top as he just couldn't hold it anymore and started crying.– This.. This wasn't supposed to go like this.. We were supposed to escape from here together! –He said, as he voice slowly started to break.–

Suddenly there was a huge explosion on the background, and Tommy slightly turned around to look what was going on, then looked back at his friend with tears on his eyes, of course he wanted to go help the others and get over with it as soon as possible, but at the same time he wanted to be there for him in the mean time, he was afraid that if he left something would happen to him and would get worse, he didn't wanted to drop his hand or leave him there without no one helping, so he just stared at him, looking for some kind of answer, but he just looked back at him with a weak smile and tears rolling down his eyes, there was so much going on around them and yet, they were just sitting there, Tommy hugged Darnold's body as he cried, being careful to not hurt him too much, the other hugged him back, weakly but firmly holding onto him, leaving his back with a few blood stains but in those moments it wasn't something that was too important, there wasn't much he could do, since Tommy still didn't knew much of his powers and didn't wanted to hurt him in any way with them, and of course, Darnold knew about this, and of course he understood. He pulled alway slightly from the hug as he let out a little whimper, looking at his friend's concerned face with a little smile, of course he was trying his best to get a hold of the situation and not act completely scared and desperate knowing really well that wasn't going to help at all, and maybe, just maybe, if he acted calmed even with that intense pain, he could be there for a bit longer, since he knew, he felt, he wasn't getting out of there, and even if Tommy promised it, there was no time to waste there. Still, they looked at each other, Darnold having his hand on the other's cheek again, slowly letting it fall as he felt tired and weak, but Tommy kept holding him, helping him staying there as he moved his finger caressing his hand a bit, looking at him back with a smile as well, it was almost as if he knew what would happen, and how he couldn't do a thing about it, but even with that, he deeply wished that it could go differently, to have more time, to be able to heal him, but there wasn't much he could do, he was hopeless.

– Tommy.. I.. I really think you should go help the others, they might need you and I don't know how much longer t-they'll –He was interrupted, gasping out of surprise when he was pulled closer by the other, putting his hand on his shoulder since he eventually let him go, but before he could even react their lips touched on a slow and innocent kiss, Tommy closing his eyes shut as he let out a few tears and had his hands on the other's cheeks, but in response, Darnold just started crying more than he already was and slowly closed his eyes, even if he tried to hold himself tightly to him, it already hurted enough to be in that position.–

After a few seconds of it, and just crying in the middle of it trying not to break down, Tommy lay Darnold down on the floor as he pulled out of it slowly, he didn't wanted to leave, neither of them wanted to do that, but if he didn't go to help it wasn't going to be over any time soon.

– I'll be back, okay? Just.. Be strong, do it for me. –Tommy said as he tried to stop crying once and for all and just tried to smile at him, like everything was going to be okay.–

Darnold just nodded, smiling back as he put his hands on his own chest, he still looked tired and really hurt, but he was trying his best to stay awake at any cost, or well, for as long as he could. Tommy stood up and run up to where everyone was, they were almost surrounded by a circle of militaries that god knows from where they came from, as he ran there, he grabbed the gun that Forzen dropped when he was attacked by Coomer, using his free hand to summon the circle again and throw green fireballs at the ones that were surrounding his friends, Gordon managed to make his hand a mini gun again, holding it as he began shooting now realizing that they wouldn't shoot them at the same time by being distracted by Tommy throwing a fire at them that made them disintegrate almost immediately, and also punched a few of them with that hand, he still didn't wanted to use the gun, but just with having it, he looked really angry, Coomer started running in a direction as fast as he could, Bubby of course followed him and so the rest once they were done with the military, Tommy as they were following the rest, looked at a few cars approaching by in the distance, but only once they were close he started shooting his fire at them and Gordon shooting to make them distracted, what they were following? Somehow Forzen managed to kick Coomer away and run to the temporary base they built that wasn't too far away from the first entrance, so they were following him, Coomer being the closest to catch him, Bubby being behind and the others trying to catch up. After a while of running and getting really tired of doing so except for the main scientist, they finally got there, Benrey immediately falling on his knees since he couldn't run more, Gordon panting and looking around as he tried to help Benrey stand up, and Tommy just desperately looking around and following Coomer, that managed to catch the soldier and throw him to the floor, having him down by the neck as Bubby held him back to not attack him yet, as he grunted and complained about not being able to attack, but the others walked up to them, Forzen struggled to breathe, with his mouth and nose bleeding, eyes closed until he opened once he felt steps getting closer, smiling once he saw Tommy, and laughing as well as he coughed and almost choked on his own blood, Coomer got him down enough to let him go, but just as he did that, Tommy decided to put his foot on the soldier's chest and press it really hard as he took out the gun, prepared it and pointed at the other's head, there was silence for a few minutes, no words, no hard feelings, that, until Forzen started laughing again, almost trying to do enough pressure to get Tommy's foot off his chest, but that made him just press harder and cough more blood, now immobilized there as he tried to breathe normally and not cough way too much.

– You hurt my friends with your bullshit, we had to run away, make up fake ass identities, and you shot Darnold. –Tommy said as he looked at the gun for a few seconds, pointing straight at him again, but it could be noticeable that he was shaking, and that he was really nervous.– You can't be here anymore, not after everything you've done. –He finished saying as he tried to calm his breathing.–

– Oh.. Oh! You think.. You think that I'll get off easily with this, huh? You think I'll stop messing around just because I'm dead? Don't make me laugh.. –He stopped as he coughed and looked to the side to spit out the blood.– You underestimate everything I do.. Tommy, you don't know what I'm capable of, I know your dad really well, He's WEAK, oh, and why? Because of his puny little son, that doesn't even knows how to control his powers well, how saaad.. But here! Take my words well.. I'll be back, I'll make your fucking life a living hell, and I'll get revenge for what you've done! You hear me!? You're dead! –He finished saying as he smiled and his eyes glowed green.–

But at the end, just as he finished, Tommy shoot the gun directly at his heas, killing him instantly, and make his body immediately relax, now, he didn't even looked nervous, he looked angry, and somehow scared, taking off his feet from the body's chest and watching him disintegrate, leaving nothing but a beyblade behind, which he immediately stomped on and burned, starting crying as he let go of the gun, he couldn't handle it anymore, he wanted to lay down and cry, but he didn't had much time either, so after doing that, and dropping a few tears, he began running back to the city, almost hyperventilating, not being able to breathe really well, everyone started following him, calling his name as he cried and tried to be fast and not trip with a stick, it took them minutes to finally get there, but even once they stopped the ground of the place he didn't stopped, he rushed to look for Darnold, that was still lying down but with a lot of blood surrounding him, he quickly slided to his side and helped him sit a bit by letting him put his head on him, he smiled as he cried, once he saw him slowly open his eyes and just, smile back, weakly and hopeless, but at that point, he couldn't even move, he just moved his hand a little and tried to reach for the other, and him catching the message, held his hand as he tried to stop crying.

– We'll get you to the hospital, okay? Just hold on a little longer. –Tommy said, having hope on his tone of voice as he tried to pick him up.–

But even with a weak voice and barely any energy, he still could talk for a bit.

– Tommy.. I don't think I have much time.. –He said back, with that the other immediately stopped, looking back at him really scared.–

– No.. Don't say that, you'll be okay! They're gonna treat you really well! y-you.. –Tommy tried to keep speaking, but his voice kept breaking.– Darnold.. –

Everyone was looking at the scene, with a sad expression on their faces, no one could help, no one there had the ability to heal wounded people, and not enough to heal someone that was in the border of dying, there was nothing they could do, and if they went to the hospital he would simply die on the way, there wasn't enough time for anything, it was hopeless, even if Tommy wanted to believe something different, that there was hope, something they could do about it, that they could help him in any way, but there was nothing.

– I'm sorry I'm.. I'm not as strong as you guys are.. I'm getting so tired.. Everything hurts.. I really wanted to follow you and be with you.. Help with potions.. And the p-purifier.. I've avoided fighting for so long, to avoid something like this to happen but now.. Tommy.. I'm sorry I couldn't even keep a promise.. –Darnold said, stopping as he laughed slightly but coughed right after that.– I love you, and please.. Survive.. We'll meet again, just, one day.. Maybe one day.. We can be together again.. –He finished saying as he slowly closed his eyes, his hand softly letting go, and his expression changing to a calmed one.–

He was gone, completely gone, and no one said a single word, or something about it, no one talked or made a comment, the only thing they could hear was the sound of the trees and wind, there were no gunshots, no whispers, no movement coming from them, only their silence. At least Tommy was glad that his body didn't faded away, but couldn't even contain his crying, he lay him down again but never stopped hugging his body, he just couldn't believe that something like that happened, even promising that nothing would happen to them, that they would all get home safe, but now being in the middle of the road, they lost one of them, and even not knowing Darnold as much as Tommy did, it still hurted to have him go so soon and unexpectedly and just when everything was going well. Coomer shifted back to normal and with a concerned look on his face, he slowly walked up to Tommy, sitting besides him and putting his hand on the other's shoulder, he quickly turned around once he felt that and looked at him with sad eyes, hugging him tightly as he left Darnold's body alone, the other's walking up to them and trying to comfort Tommy by hugging him and letting him cry as much as he wanted, waiting for him to make a decision while they sat besides him.

When Darnold first got to Black Mesa, his whole life flashed before his eyes, he already knew something bad would happen if he took a violent approach, so when the resonance cascade happened, he was afraid of going out of his laboratory and fight against what was outside, being lucky enough that no one managed to get inside there at first, he was already making a plan to just live his whole life there, but of course, with a nuke on top of his head that wasn't going to be really possible, of course he thought he would die in any second, but he knew as well that Gordon was on his way, getting courage enough when he realized the other scientists were fighting as well, but once he stepped out of the laboratory, he just knew that really wasn't his thing, he couldn't just go ahead and risk everything or end up dying and lose everything, but again, his purpose was given to him pretty clearly and early on his life, being the reason he was so careful, his only difference with the rest of the Science team and Benrey was that even inside of Black Mesa, if he died, he just died, his mortality was really clear, even being self aware, you would think that he would be free from his mortality, but he was an exception, he treasured every second of his life, being careful that he didn't got in the middle of some deadly combat or a chance that something could possibly kill him, he ran away thinking that the world outside of Black mesa would be less deadly, and it was fun while it lasted, but now, he was just walking to an open door, leaving everything behind but wishing at the same time to be able to see his friends again, and at least, he had somehow to remember Tommy for the rest of his after life.

They carried Darnold's body to the forest, deep in there, where there wasn't much light, Benrey and Coomer were digging a whole, no one was saying a word, not even a single thing, Tommy was still holding his body, looking at him as he tried his best to stop crying, touching his cheek and caressing it as he smiled slightly, he was just sleeping, and that's what's just sadden him more, he would never wake up again, he would never see him smile again, or show any expression, or feel his hugs, or hear his voice, and even if he wanted to make it quick, he didn't wanted to let go. At last and after a few minutes they had the hole ready, just standing in front of it not knowing well what to do, they looked at Tommy that was sitting down with the body on his arms, staring at him, and then up to them, nodding slightly as he carefully put him inside the hole, being careful with him since they didn't have a thing to put him in and it was already hard since the ground was really uneven, so after a few minutes of making sure he didn't looked completely wrong, getting out of there and backing up a little bit, he looked at Coomer and Benrey and slightly nodded, them letting out a little sigh and starting to cover the whole again with the dirt, taking less time they took to dig everything, but once they were done and made sure the ground was hard enough so no one accidentally falls for not caring about the ground, they left the shovel on the floor, immediately fading away as they looked at the little bump on the floor, of course it was noticeable that something was buried, but Tommy didn't wanted to give his friend a bad place, so he stood besides it and touched the ground, closing his eyes and letting out a little groan as his hand got green and from the ground some flowers and grass started to grow up, aside from a tombstone that started being created from the bottom to the top of it, being hard enough so it doesn't breaks, and deadly for no one aside from them being able to touch it, there were two flowers on each side of the tombstone, it was an orange and a yellow flower, shining brightly at the darkness of that forest, but even the leaves of the trees opened slightly to point down at the grave. After a few minutes, he stopped touching the ground, gasping a bit as he tried to stand up by his own and looked down at what he did, smiling and letting out a few tears as he held the arm he used to do that, still hurting as the green and circuits slowly faded away.

– Goodbye, Darnold. –He said as he smiled, looking at the others and just walking back to the city with them.–

Being back to the city, almost everyone was out from their hidings and looking around confused and afraid, there were no gunshots but at the same time there was no military, nothing that could tell them what was breaking the law or not, there was no supervision at all, and there were two out comes for that, peace, or riot, so they walked to the car to continue their way and not waste much time, once they got there, they sae Sunkist waiting on the side of the car, sitting down as he smiled and barked once he saw them, running up to them and jumping on them to get some pets, he could sense something was wrong already, first from Tommy's hand being full of blood and the smell of Darnold all over him, so, looking up to him now with a sad expression, he tried to jump and lick his face, trying to make him laugh or sometho but he was confused, he already looked well enough, but he could feel his sadness, so he didn't really knew what to believe. After all of that they got inside the car and Tommy took his hoodie off, looking at it as he let out a sigh and got him by surprise when he felt Benrey's head on his shoulder, and then feeling another bump for Gordon putting his head on Benrey's shoulder, now both of them being on Tommy's side, he laughed slightly as he reached for Gordon a bit, putting his hand on his head and rested his head on Benrey as well, closing his eyes and felt Sunkist sit on his lap.  
Finally after a few minutes Bubby started the car, and without a word, already seeing that it was getting a mess outside, they got out of the city and back to the road, this time, there weren't much trees, they were in the middle of the desert for about an hour until there was forest again, and that didn't stopped, slowly there was more people on the way, which was concerning, thinking someone already took the house maybe, but that was one of the less things to worry about, but of course, there were a lot of people walking in a common direction, there was a split road up ahead, and while they went a way, they went the opposite, it was almost scary in a way, almost an horde of people, going the same way, looking tired, dehydrated, hungry and hopeless, looking for a safe place or getting somewhere they could get more information, but again, it was almost sad how they didn't knew that if they keep up going in the direction that there's more people not knowing what's going on, the chances of them surviving any attack or not encounter a headcrab and grow curios was really low, and maybe that was one of the reasons to why they kept getting missing.

There were a lot of routes on the road, some of them were good, some others were really poor and abandoned, so they went for the road needed to get there, at that point getting far and far away from the city, almost in the middle of nowhere, there was no signal, but lucky them, there was a place they could stop to eat and that luckily wasn't abandoned and actually looked really nice, so Bubby parked the car on the side of the road and walked there, and once they stepped in, they just looked around and walked to sit on a table, then a lady came out from the kitchen, almost laughing when she realized there were people there, and she almost jumped in joy, she looked happy, she haven't seen people around in days and she's had no signal on the TV so because of that, of course she didn't knew why no one was around or why no one ever stopped by, but now with them there, she had a bit of hope to know or what happened or simply serve them food because no one has been around lately and new faces are always welcomed.

– Hey there! Welcome I haven't seen people around in a while, what do you guys want? –She said with a smile on her face.–

They thought to themselves, they haven't had any decent meal in a while since they've been living out of sandwiches and instant food, so they ordered what they thought was decent and cheap as well, so she walked back to the kitchen. Of course waiting was the less of their problems, there was a lot going on, but they still had some time, stopping to eat something decent and not starve wasn't something not worth ot to waste their time into, they were actually hungry and really needed something to eat before getting way too dizzy.

– Doctor Coomer? Do you know where we're staying next? –Gordon asked as he played a little with his fingers, being a bit nervous since they haven't talked much in all the way.–

– Well, as far as I remember.. Well yes, I remember! We're staying in a hotel, of course, though I couldn't find a place to stay after we got out of the hotel, so sadly, Bubby, we'll have to sleep in the car for a night. –Coomer said with a smile, laughing a bit once he heard Bubby complain under his breath.– But we'll be fine, because we're close to getting there, sleeping inside a car is the less.. So once we get there, we can maybe have a day or two to rest before getting to work, does that sounds right? –He finished saying as he looked around at them.–

– Pleaseee I really need a break. –Gordon said as he slided down a bit.–

– I'll just use the first day to get my stuff back, and of course rest because I'm really tired, and fucked up. –Benrey said as he looked at his hands and laughed a bit at Gordon.–

– Well.. Changes can be for the better, right? Once we get there, and of course we rest enough because we deserve it at the end.. We'll make it through, we'll find a way to survive and free this world, it's going to be fine. –Tommy said as he held his own hands together and smiled slightly as he looked down, they all looked at him, trying to be positive about it, a death wasn't easy, and less it was when it was so sudden, so they just smiled, Benrey being next to him, he hugger the other as he pulled Gordon with him as well.–

– We'll be fine, it's gonna be fine. –Benrey said with a little smile as he looked at him.–

Tommy looked at him as he smiled and laughed a bit, Benrey laid back once he stopped hugging his friend, being catched by Gordon who hugged the other with one of his arms and pulled him closer, as the smaller simply put his head on the other chest and smiled, bumping his head a bit with the other's jaw almost begging for some kind of attention. And with that of course everyone realized that something was going on between them since normally Gordon wouldn't even act like that around him, but now? They looked different than usual, but at the same time, it made them happy.

– Sooo.. Gordon, care to explain the elephant in the room? –Bubby asked with a smile on his face as he looked at them, Coomer laughed at the comment and Tommy chuckled a bit.–

Gordon immediately blushed as he looked at them, meanwhile Benrey barely cared about it, he still wanted to throw more wood to the fire.

– Yeah Feetman, care to explain?–


	15. Almost There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long road and days of waiting, they get closer and closer to their final destination, as they take their time as well to talk and think.

\- Can we please talk about this in the car? I'm really hungry now and I don't think that is appropriate talking about it here in the open. -Gordon said really nervous as he scratched the back of his head and just tried to contain his blush, but of course and just as always he failed miserable once he heard Benrey purr.-

\- Gordon, not to be too impatient but, here we have all the time of the world, and you know that in this group loving another man is totally normal, I still want to hear the story though! I'm really curious. -Coomer said as he smiled and held his own hands together.-

\- If Feetman doesn't wants to say it then I guess I'll have to. -Benrey said with a smile as he sat down straight and crossed his arms.- Turns out there was a vhs player in the room we were staying, and I had a few tapes back when we got back from university, you know, just a little more of proof and something he can actually believe, sooo since I gave him the proof he needed to believe his words he just went ahead and kissed me and -

\- Please, you don't have to say the rest! -Gordon said as he raised his voice, his face was completely red.-

\- Bruh we only cuddled, don't take it wrong, he gets nervous because of everything. Anyways, after we talked it through, we decided to give it a try and start dating. -The short haired finished saying as he smiled and looked back at Gordon with a smug smile on his lips.- See? It wasn't complicated. -

\- That's really cute! Can we see the tapes once we get to the house though? I wanna see Joshua! -Tommy said as he looked at them with a smile.-

\- Me too! -Coomer replied.-

\- Well, it'll take me a while to get my stuff back but once I get everything, yeah I can show the tapes and others I have too, like a movie night sort of thing to kill time a bit, why not? -Benrey said.-

After a while of talking about what they could do once they got to the house and other things regarding building the whole device to hide their signals and others in case they found members of the resistance if there were any, of course those plans were really ahead of them and it was a few months work, but considering that they would have to stay there almost for life, was going to be difficult, so of course they planned on getting a good amount of ground and hide it so they don't get bored as well in a simple and small place, considering too that Sunkist needed a big space to run and play, because a small space wasn't really very efficient or strategic as well, since as far they had more space to make their creations, it was going to be completely okay, not of course to make the whole resonance cascade all over again, but enough to run more tests and make sure that everything they were going to do doesn't ends up in a total disaster, but aside from that, they believed that everything was going to be okay. After a while of waiting the girl walked back with their food, being followed by a guy that had the rest of the food since she didn't had enough space on her arms to deliver everything, so after they put everything on the table they left, then the rest just started eating without saying a word, they even got Sunkist some food for him to eat, so they all ate in silence, without saying a word, simply enjoying the food since it tasted really good and they were hungry enough to just eat anything they would put on their way. After about thirty minutes they were done eating, laying back a bit as they sighed in relief, Sunkist already sleeping on the floor since he finished eating a while ago, of course they asked for a lot of food but it would be mean of them if they just left and didn't pay for the food after they bought them such good meal, finally they asked for the bill but before doing so Tommy asked for a milkshake for the way, then after paying all of that and him getting his milkshake, they all stood up and walked out of the restaurant, but since Gordon was the last one walking out, the girl stopped him.

\- Sir! Wait, I'm really sorry I don't want to bother, but can I ask you a few questions? -She said from behind the counter.-

\- Sure. -He replied.-

\- What is going on? Where is everyone? I've seen no one go through this road and it's normally crowded! We have no signal so we have no idea what's happening outside, can you please tell me what happened? What did we missed? -She asked with a worried tone.-

At first, Gordon didn't really knew how to reply, looking back at his friends for a few seconds then back at her as he let out a sigh, he didn't really knew what to say without freaking her out, so of course, he had to make something up, for more difficult than it was.

\- Well, uh, the road was actually closed and there were a few wires cut, apparently there was a fire and something fell in the middle of the road so we saw everyone going through the other way but we found a way to go through the forest and still through this way since is shorter. -Gordon said with a little smile, trying to hide his nervousness.-

\- Now that I think of it, I did heard an explosion.. -She said to herself.-

\- Well! I have to go! Thanks for the food! -Gordon said quickly getting out of there and almost running to the car.-

Bubby started the car once he realized that the long haired was already inside, to not lose too much time, it was better to go ahead and continue their way and avoid any kind of inconvenience, since of course they didn't cared about the military at that point since they had no one on their backs now, still they couldn't forget about the xen creatures, and other things, maybe they finally didn't had half of the world on their back, but still needed to care about whatever was going inside the planet and fucking with their lives, maybe they still had some time, and luckily would get there before anything way too bad happens, and they would take their time to rest since they were far enough, but still, there was still that fear of not even being able to rest in peace, have a good sleep or simply take a little bit or a break, even if they still had to fight against creatures once they got there to clean the area, at least it was much easier than fight against way bigger things. Being in the middle of an empty forest could be really scary when the sun just starts to go down, seeing everything so dark and not know what's inside there, that anything could come out of there and attack you, or that you won't be left alone by whatever was there, but for them, a forest was the less to be scared about, they've been through so much, an got scared by so many things, that yeah, maybe a forest was scary, but that was only the bits of it, for Coomer, it was just something really nostalgic to think about, not because he's ever been that far of the facility, at least it was his first time around there himself, but his clones got everywhere, and apparently, that forest was a nostalgic memory.  
After hours on the road the sun started to set, and this time they were really far away from the place they would stay that night, of course it wasn't their first time having to wait longer to get to the place, but that would mean they would be even more tired the next morning, but at least not losing much time since they definitely would have to sleep on the car after that night.  
Once the sun finally set and it was nothing but darkness, Benrey's eyes started to glow involuntarily, and they didn't noticed after a few minutes later and Bubby got scared when he looked back for a few seconds and saw those two yellow spots and almost crashed the car, but luckily gained balance again and as he breathed heavily he started to laugh as he tried to keep his hands on the wheel and not lose balance again, Coomer looking at him confused and afraid until he looked back, realizing Benrey's eyes.

\- Shit, are my eyes a distraction? -Benrey asked as he saw Coomer turn on the light.-

\- It's okay! Don't worry about it but, you definitely scared Bubby. -Coomer replied with a nervous smile as he looked back at Bubby that was trying to catch his breath.-

\- GOD, it's okay! I'm good! Let's just not turn off the light again that took me off guard. -Bubby said as he looked up to the road again and let out a sigh chuckling a bit.-

Benrey remained in silence for a bit as he looked down for a few seconds, Gordon when he realized this, since of course the movement woke him up, comforted the other by putting his hand on the other's head and giving him a few head pats while letting him rest his head on his shoulder for a bit until he calmed down and of course the situation wasn't as uncomfortable as it already was, and not that it was something difficult to take off but it was definitely not the best. After a few minutes of it, Gordon looked up from Benrey to the windom as he thought to himself, of course that night would be tiring and waking up early the next morning after having to sleep later the night before wasn't the best idea when one of them had to drive all the way to the next stop, but at least time was going on fast, they were really close to finally getting to their final destination and be able to sleep and do something about everything, suddenly, after thinking a lot, Gordon had an idea that wanted to talk about simply to make that feeling get out and not make that ride way too uncomfortable.

\- Hey, guys? I was thinking, since we're really close to finally getting to the house, maybe once we get there and make ourselves comfortable we can do a movie night? -Gordon asked as he looked at the front, feeling how Benrey moved a little but barely cared about it, he only smiled slightly to try and convince them.-

\- A movie night? Well, I mean there's not many options now that I think about it since of course there's no blockbuster near us, but I'm sure we can easily create them, right? -Bubby said, asking to Benrey as he looked back at him through the mirror.-

\- They are, they actually waste only a bit of my energy since they're so easy to create. -Benrey said as he yawned and made a VHS tape appear on his hand and then making it disappear.-

\- Very well then, movie night it is! Each one of us gets to choose a movie, we can start early so we don't tire ourselves way too much, was that your idea, Gordon? -Coomer said and asked at the end as he looked back with a smile, feeling excited about said movie night that was about to come, he really needed a distraction from everything and simply relax, he was really stressed most of the time and even if he didn't showed it, he needed more space to himself and just break a few things to be okay, something he really couldn't do since they were always on groups to avoid any inconveniences, but now even being all together was dangerous, and at least once they get to the safety of home, everything would be alright again.–

After a few more minutes of driving they finally got to the place, slowly stopping the car to make sure that it wasn't as full as it was before but now, this one was the contrary of the last one, it was almost empty, there was no one instead the reception of course excluding the receptionist, so they parked the car and after talking about what to do for a few minutes, and then walked out of the car, opening the trunk to get their stuff out and close it to wall to the place once and for all, Sunkist as always was really close to Tommy, sniffing the air to make sure and was really defensive if anyone that wasn't from their team simply approached them, after a few minutes of waiting to get their rooms, and once they got the keys they just walked there, since once again their rooms were next to each other, so at least like that they had that feeling of safety but at the same time, at least that was a distraction to the creepy vibes that place strangely had, so once they got to their rooms, they started talking about next day's plan, since they were closer and closer to the place, how time would be going on was going to be much more difficult, and had to watch out in case anything happened because at that point, the area not having even a single bit of outside communication was suspicious. After that conversation they went inside their rooms and immediately went to bed, being almost 1AM was actually tiring and it wasn't a good idea stay up late in the road and so close there, so after struggling a bit to fall asleep, they fell into that almost deep dream to then being waken up by an alarm almost at 10AM, early enough for them to get going but no one really put it on in the first place, since they didn't reallw even had a phone or something, so having that alarm set off was a really good timing, although that sleep felt like a few seconds and they were still a bit tired, it was an everyday thing, so they stood up and started getting dressed, Tommy was giving Sunkist a cookie that he had on the pocket of his hoodie and then stood up to put his shoes and the hoodie on, including his hat too as well, meanwhile Gordon decided to just take a quick shower before going, taking about ten minutes to shower wasn't a bad time and since he had really long hair it got dirty really quickly, and even if Benrey wanted to take a shower as well, it was more than obvious that the other just wouldn't let him shower with him just like that, so as he complained, sitting outside of the bathroom because he wanted to shower as well, he stood up to change his clothes once and for all, because not that it was getting late but of course it wasn't the best walking around in short shorts when it was starting to get cold already in the room.

– Stupid Feetman.. Like if I've never seen him naked. –He said under his breath as he put on his hoodie and his beanie, waiting for Gordon to get ready as he lay down on the bed, letting out a sigh as he raised his hands to the hair almost trying to touch the ceiling.–

After a few minutes he walked out already with his hair dried with a ponytail and clothes on, once he looked at Benrey laying on the bed, laying next to him he looked at the ceiling as well,not really getting why he was doing that, he did the same for no reason, not really asking the why he was doing it but just to stay there for a little longer. Benrey looked at him confused for a few seconds but then turned around to hug him and cuddle for a little bit, the long haired petting the other's head as he laughed slightly and looked at him with a little smile.

– Oh look at you, two days ago you were scared of me. –Benrey said as he started to purr and looked up to see the other with a smile.–

– Benrey, I have my own reasons as why I was that scared of you, I mean, sincerely you treated me like shit when we were at Black Mesa. –The other replied as he looked at him and put his hand under Benrey's beanie, messing with his hair like that.–

– Well that's not my fault, you were being an asshole too, don't deny it, and you know I'm bad at expressing myself, idiot. –He replied as he put a hand on Gordon's face to distract him a bit.–

The long haired tried to say somethi about it but was interrupted almost immediately by Benrey kissing his lips, softly and carefully as he put both of his hands on the other's shoulders, smiling between it until he simply pulled away, leaving Gordon almost wanting more of that but again, just as they separated there was a knock on the door, and since the short haired was the one that was actually more prepared than the other, he stood up and walked to open the door, where everyone was waiting outside. Almost embarrassed by how long they took, the long haired stood up to grab their stuff and put Benrey's clothes back in the bag, grabbing finally the keys of the room they both walked outside to not lose even more time, and now walking to the reception, grabbing each others hand, they decided to be quick and with Tommy and Sunkist they walked back to the car meanwhile Coomer and Bubby were leaving the keys there, and after about fifteen minutes of waiting outside the car and just talking to each other, they walked back, apparently there was an issue with Sunkist staying there and they didn't say anything the night before so Bubby was getting angry and Coomer had to grab him away, of course they couldn't leave the place without doing something bad right? But again, even doing that was dangerous, so instead of burning everything down, Bubby just burned a pot plant before leaving and giving the receptionist a dead stare in the eyes, being dragged away by Coomer, again.

They all walked inside the car once they left their bags on the back, then drove back to the road, being that there was little to nothing of road left, they were really patient that way, looking at the forest and the little to nothing you could see inside of them, Tommy rolled down the window a bit to let Sunkist breathe some air, of course making sure he doesn't sticks half of his body out because of excitement, so he was hugging him as he let him do this. That day indeed was really long, just as expected anyways, but as they were getting close there were more abandoned places, stores, a few houses, closed roads by fallen trees that were going deep inside the forest, like they intentionally did that in order to not let anyone in, but they all ran away from there, and that was just giving them more of a feeling of fear and insecurity of being there, eventually, they had to stop at the side of the road because Bubby was falling asleep and needed to drink something to wake himself up, so he got out of the car, the same with the others since they needed something to eat for that day, so they sat on the side of the road and started drinking and eating from some of the food they had, there was a convenience store a bit ahead that was probably going to be abandoned as well, so that could be a change to get more food, and if not, it wasn't going to hurt them waste the money they had when they were so close to finally getting home. After a while of talking and eating aside from Sunkist being curious enough to go inside the forest, they stood up and packed up to continue their way there, Tommy called for his dog before going in, and after a few seconds of waiting he came back running, jumping directly inside the car and on top of both Benrey and Gordon that laughed at the dog's reaction. Bubby started the car again and now back to the road, he asked to Coomer if there was any gas station nearby, being the answer that a few minutes passing the convenience store there was a gas station, so that really wasn't going to be a problem aside that they were already running out of gas and when you're so close that was going to be one more problem, so of course, instead of stopping by the convenience store, thinking there could be more stuff the closer they get, Bubby went directly for the gas station that had a minimarket too as well, so they all walked out and walked inside there, being abandoned as well too apparently, they looked around to make sure it was actually abandoned and indeed it was, so they started taking everything they needed and this time taking more energizers than last time and snacks as well some popcorn, since they already had some food to cook with in the back of the car, so, since Benrey now got to choose some things, they bought more snacks and stuff like that than other times, of course caring about too about normal food as well in case they ran out they could always duplicate everything, now that they realized of course, so once they were ready by putting everything in the back of the car and in bags and Bubby finished loading the car with gasoline, making sure it was properly turned off, they went inside the car after stretching for a bit, then turning on the engine again, Bubby drove back to the road, this time having more energy and being more sure about everything, they would make it there and they were sure about it, those were the last hours having to be sitting down for so long or making sure nothing is following them, they would be home soon enough.

Quickly nigh time fell, everything already dark, empty and scary, you could even see a few shining eyes staring at the driveway in the forest, but there was no movement, just eyes, that could easily be any animals but at the same time, sleeping in a place like that was going to be scary, probably they would be really lucky if nothing attacked them of course, still, Bubby wanted to make that road a little bit longer by looking for a place to park the car, and even if Coomer was giving him some indications and things they could do, he decided to ignore those to find a safer place, since the older had a different opinion about the forest than anyone, at least the driver was really scared for their safety and to make it to somewhere that was much more safer and trustful than the side of the road, so eventually, after a while of looking, Bubby found a place to park, so of course everything was really dark and that was scarier than they thought, thinking at least they had each other in case something happened, eventually he turned off the engine after looking around making sure, then turned off the lights as well, there was now only silence aside from the chirping of a few birds, they still tried not to focus much about it, so trying to make themselves comfortable, not like they've never slept inside the car, since everything was much more comfortable than the floor of Black Mesa.   
Tommy, Benrey and Gordon lay on each other, trying to find something to support themselves with, they ended up putting their heads on Benrey's shoulders that was already falling asleep, since he could sleep in any position, sleeping like that wasn't going to be much of a problem when he could support himself too on Gordon, meanwhile Coomer and Bubby had to stay with trying to sleep on their sits and couldn't be able to sleep like they would normally do, then after a few minutes of struggling to make themselves comfortable, they stopped moving and slowly fell asleep, so slowly the sounds of the wind and the chirps of the birds sounded more comforting less scarier than it did before, slowly drifting into a dream to wait for the next morning to come.

You might actually think that in a place like that, being so uncomfortable and tiny, no one could ever sleep well or even have dreams being in somewhere like that, but this was something different. Gordon slowly opened his eyes to find himself on the train of the rail system of Black Mesa, being on the way to Sector C, just like the day that everything went wrong, but instead of talking to himself or even say something, he remained quiet, looking at his hands as he still didn't had the HEV suit on, luckily, but that place gave him really bad memories, but after all, even if that already happened, that was way too much for him, so he sat down, holding his head, thinking something like that simply couldn't be happening, so when he looked to the side to make sure that simply wasn't real, he saw Gman standing on the next train, so he quickly stood up, walking to the side that was closer to him as the train he was in simply went on, the other only looked at him for a few seconds with an emotionless face, before looking away and fix his tie, and eventually, he lost him from view. He quickly went to the front of the train, after a few minutes he was already at Sector C, a guard opened his door and he quickly walked with him to get inside there, he wanted that dream to be over once and for all, so once the door was opened, he quickly rushed inside, looking through the window to the guard that was in chargr of opening that second door, stomping slightly his feet on the ground, impatiently as he looked back to the door, that was being opened before his eyes, inside of the lab was much brighter than it was outside, so as he squinted his eyes a bit, he walked inside, trying to blink a few times to make himself comfortable with that lighting, and trying not to lose much time, he walked directly to suit up, being confused for he didn't even found Tommy on the way, it was empty, inside the locker room, he expected to see Coomer, someone he could talk to, but instead, once the door opened, there was an endless and empty void, fading slowly from white to black and from Black to white, so he walked inside of there, with the soft sound of a sparkle as he walked, and the door closed behind him, leaving him alone inside that place as he walked forward, looking for any exit or an end, but as he walked, he saw a figue walking towards him in the distance, he almost got happy by seeing someone else there, but as they got closer, he got more and more confused, no words wanted to come out of his mouth, once they were close enough, he looked clearly confused, and even if he wanted to say something, he was interrupted anyways.

– You need to wake up, dad. –The person said with a little smile on his face, and with a really familiar voice, and slowly, Gordon's expression changed to a surprised one.–

He felt slowly drifting away, but he didn't wanted to wake up soon, yet he heard Benrey's voice calling for him, but he wanted answers, he wanted to know what was going on, but once he opened his eyes, his memories busted away and forgot entirely about that dream. They were already on the way, he was the last to wake up, and confused he looked around until his eyes met Benrey's and softly smiled.


	16. Home sweet Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a week of sleeping on the way, the Science team and Benrey finally get to their new home.

They were really close to finally getting there, and the ambience was saying a lot, a blue sky, fresh air, even Bubby was happy to finally be able to get there, everything was going according to plan, and at that point, they could even get there before the sun even sets, there was simply so much they could do, finally have some peace from the chasing bullshit, Gordon even though he saw a river while he looked between the trees as the car was moving, Sunkist looked excited as well, barking a few times as he moved his tail and licked his owner's cheek, they wanted to know the place, and even if it was scary they could always renovate everything, a big house for the entire team, organized at their own taste, making everything look exactly as they planned, no more pain, no more fear, they had enough time to develop everything and had enough resources too in case someone got injured, having enough knowledge, nothing could stop them at that point. But as planned, once they got there they would take a few days off in order to relax before getting to work, but of course, they still had to work on the house once they got there, assuming everything would be covered and full of spider webs. They had around three hours to finally get there, after days and days having to sleep outside and in scary places, at least they now had a defined and permanent place to stay, far away from everything, of course it was going to be all right, having to worry only on the machine wasn't going to be the hardest part, but they had to find a way to camouflage their energy since as estimated the purifier would emit enough energy to accidentally reveal their location to whatever was out there, and that really wasn't part of the plan. Since they had enough time, they parked on the side of the road after a while, to stretch, get some air and eat as well, since they haven't been eating well in the last days and being it was a hardcore mode type of run, they had to eat or it would make everything even more difficult, even if they ate once a day.  
After eating and drinking some juice, Benrey walked to the forest, of course before doing so, he informed the other's about this and started walking inside it, looking at his surroundings as he did a slow spin to see better, still walking forward, he eventually found a path, not reall knowing where it was leading, he stayed still, trying to look for an end of that path but it seemed to keep going even really far away out of his view, so after standing there for a bit he walked back to the car, since it was really noticeable where the driveway was, it was really hard for him to get lost, so once he got to the others he walked inside the car, waiting for the others that were still eating and talking, laying down for a bit as he yawned and stretched a almost like a cat.

After a few minutes of looking at the roof and try to touch the roof of the car, failing miserably, he looked back once he heard the door open, realizing that Gordon was there wanting to sit, he stood up to give him the space and returned to sit in the middle seat as he made himself comfortable and eventually closed the door again, looking back at Benrey that now had his eyes closed and yawned, not falli asleep but feeling really tired and sleepy anyways, eventually dropping his head on the other's shoulder and smiling slightly as he tried to make himself comfortable, his back was hurting a little bit and he felt his neck a bit numb, so he needed something to support himself and try to get rid of that pain, but of course he wasn't going to be able to do so until they get there, not having enough space to lay down, at least he was patient enough to not complain the whole way there, but he felt really tired, even if he didn't had a bad sleep, so maybe being like that for a few minutes and take a little nap would help with that.

\- Are you tired? -Gordon asked as he looked at the other, putting his hand on Benrey's head as he gave him a few pats and traveled his fingers through his hair.-

\- Only a bit, but yes, maybe what I slept just wasn't enough. -Benrey replied as he let the other touch his hair and play with it a bit.-

\- You can sleep if you want, we can always wake you up once we get there if you sleep too much, besides, this is a good day for a nap, so go for it.- Gordon said as he kissed his boyfriend's forehead and calmly smiled back at him.-

Benrey murmured a "Thank you" and slowly started to fall asleep, hugging himself a little bit as he snuggled on Gordon's shoulder, not caring much once he felt the movement of the other getting inside the car to keep going their way to the house, and after talking for a bit and Coomer describing better the place so they don't accidentally get lost or accidentally lose the entrance to the place, that was really discrete and barely noticeable, they would be lucky if there wasn't a tree covering the main road there, but after getting enough indications and almost getting angry by how insisting the other was, he started the engine and drove back to the road, going a bit faster than usual just wanting to be there as soon as possible, almost not being able to wait enough to finally lay down on a couch or bed for a whole day and not have to care about anything else for the next two days, of course everyone there was tired as well, but not being able to even take naps and havinw to drive for hours and hours was getting really boring, meanwhile, Gordon was looking outside of the window, trying to remember what his dream was all about, only being able to remember fragments of it, he was confused as why even if he really couldn't remember what happened in that dream, it felt so realistic and, scary, he felt like he had to remember, that there was something important hidden, but as he tried to concentrate more and more on his thoughts, his head started hurting, so he eventually stopped thinking about it, now concentrating on the forest, the trees, the way, getting closer and closer to their new home, he slowly closed his eyes, to rest his view a little bit, not really intending to fall asleep, but at the end he did anyways, even feeling a bit uncomfortable because of it, he wasn't really tired in the first place, but he couldn't really fight it. Coomer looked at the map, feeling really nervous as he looked at it, he could almost feel his heart pumping so hard he could feel it on his ears, of course he tried to calm down his breathing as well, they were getting way too close, and he was starting to get really insecure about it, would the house still be there? Inhabitated? Or at least in a shape that they would be able to live in without fearing death, that roadtrip, all those hours, all the sacrifices, were because of him, and now, being close to the end, he was feeling unsure, what if it wasn't worth it? If there was nothing there? Emptiness, a lost chunk, a glitched part of the map, time wasted, lost hope. But he had his hopes up, for it to be worth it, for all those hours to not be wasted in vain, so he kept looking at the map, eventually folding it again and letting it aside, looking out of the window, the trees, the sky, who knew it would all be lost in such short time, in only a few hours, humanity was lost, who knew if they would be the only ones eventually, but they were going to do anything possible to be able to restore everything, fight for their lives, take back their world, because they weren't the type of people that would give up so easily, and they knew they weren't the only ones ready to fight against anything that got on their way.  
After a few hours of waiting, time that seemed like it went flying, they got there, but before they could even get to the house, there was a road made out of dirt, so not knowing really well of the car would go through there, Bubby stopped the engine on the side and walked out with Coomer, mostly walking to check the road and make sure everything was okay for them to drive through there, and after looking everywhere, making sure no one was there or that nothing felt wrong they walked back to the car, starting the engine again and driving deep into the forest.

– I'm so nervous. –Coomer said in a lower voice.–

– Is everything okay? –Bubby asked, looking him for a few seconds then back to the road.– I've seen you unsure for a while now. –

– Sincerely? I don't know if the house will be in an appropriate state, I really don't want to disappoint. –He replied as he touched his own cheek and looked at the trees.–

– I'm sure it's going to be fine, don't worry much about it, we can always repair it, can't be that hard. –Bubby said as he looked at the road with a little smile on his face.–

After a few minutes on that road, and almost getting stuck at one point in the mud, they got to a gate, that Coomer had to get out of the car to open, since they already got there, once they were all inside the area, he just decided to stay there for a bit as he closed the gate and then walked to the house, watching the car park as he took the keys out of his back pocket, as he got closer, they walked out of the car and started unloading everything they needed from the car and leaving them on the feet of the house, Coomer just looked at the place from the distance, everything looked okay, it was almost intact aside from a few loose slabs and spiderwebs already showing on the outside, but side from that, and the really old look of the house, it was fine. He walked towards the place and unlocked the door, struggling at first since it hasn't been opened in a long time, and as a cloud of dust came out of the now open door, he slowly walked in, everything looked full of life but dead at the same time, covered with a white plastic sheet, a gloomy lighting, of the sun coming in from some of the windows of the side, there was a big stair on the side leading to the second floor, there was a big saloon, that included the dining table as well, being the kitchen on a different room, there was a lot of space on the first floor. As they walked in, everyone was astonished by how big that place was, being excited on exploring the second floor, they started taking off the sheets of the furniture, to reveal how well preserved everything was as well, of course some of them still had some spiderwebs, and the dust was really noticeable on the surfices that weren't well covered, but aside from that, everything looked perfect for them, even Coomer was kind of impressed, it was bigger than any other houses he's seen, at least in person that's for sure, since maybe he remembered some of the memories of that one place, he never thought it would be that big.

– Doctor Coomer? You say this was from one of your clones? –Gordon asked as he looked around, and then at Coomer with a smile on his face.–

– Ah, yes! He lived here with his wife, before he died of a disease, of course, but don't worry! There's no ghost to haunt you here, because he's already lone gone inside of my data base. –Coomer replied happily as he helped Bubby with their stuff.–

– Cool. –Benrey said as he walked upstairs, to see around meanwhile everyone was taking everything inside, just to explore so he doesn't gets lost eventually.–

Tommy walked to the kitchen, watching everything for a few seconds and then walked back to help with the bags and other things, they had so much stuff that they would be unloading everything for about 10 minutes and making sure they didn't left something inside the car, as he helped as well to leave everything in the kitchen, even if they had to clean the cabinets and the oven, aside from fix the energy generator as well and other things now that he realized, nothing would happen to the food as long as it was inside the bag, so already organizing ahead, and being happy that the house had a big kitchen, he left the bags on the counter and went back to help with other things, then looked to the stairs when he heard Benrey's walking back downstairs.

– How is everything on the second floor? –Tommy asked looking at Benrey as he grabbed a bag.–

– So everything is okay upstairs, of course we can just fix some rooms but I don't think if there are enough beds so we'll have to do it ourselves, there's an attic also, so that will come in handy in case something happens, but I didn't go further from that. –Benrey said as he walked towards the bags and grabbed one that had his and Gordon's clothes.– Should we work on that first? –He added.–

– I'm sure we can split up and work on different things, you boys can work on the inside! me and Bubby we're going to check the generator, if anything happens, just scream! –Coomer said with a smile as he looked at the others, grabbing Bubby by the arm to then walk out.–

– Well then, let's get to work! –Gordon said as he grabbed the other bags and walked upstairs with Tommy and Benrey, meanwhile Sunkist walked out of the house to explore outside with Coomer and Bubby.–

Upstairs was a bit more different than downstairs, there were a few spiderwebs on the side of the roof with the wall, there were some superficial cracks as well, that even being that there was a paper covering the material, it was still noticeable. There was a corridor leading to other rooms, since there was a single door at the start of the corridor, supposed to be the master room, as you looked down that hallway there were more rooms, so they checked every single one with directions of Benrey, and starting from bottom to top, they left the bags on the hallway and then walked inside that room, opening the curtains to be able to see better, and as the sun came in from the outside, you could see all the dust in the air just by opening that. All the rooms were big enough to fit a lot of things, but some were never used so they were even more dirty, and that was just one room, so without thinking, and once they had the enough lighting, Benrey made a few brooms appear aside for some gloves and then started cleaning, since there wasn't much in that room aside from a couch with a white sheet covering it just like the other furniture on the first floor, now looking at the ceiling, there were a lot of spiderwebs, just like in every corner of that room, so after they cleaned the floor and surface, and before they took the sheet off the couch, they used their brooms to get rid of those, and once everything was clean enough and left the sheet aside, the grabbed the bags and left them there, then moved to the other room to keep cleaning, taking their time on each room just to be sure that nothing happens or that they accidentally missed something as well, but each room was different, either having furniture or even a broken mattress, even if there were only four rooms in total on that second floor, it was obvious that some of them weren't really used too much in the past, having to plan more for each one of them now that they realized, once they finished cleaning, even the master room, they sat on the floor, Benrey getting rid of everything as he let out a sigh and closed his eyes trying to rest a little bit.  
Meanwhile outside, Bubby and Coomer were looking for tools to fix the generator, since it was old and it hasn't been old for a long time now, it tends to fail, and since it wasn't something really easy to fix a generator, that was the much they could do, aside from of course using their powers to fix it but it wasn't the one thing they would want to waste much power on, they were old after all, it would've been convenient if they had them earlier. As Coomer looked for what he could fix or what he could, he askrd for Bubby to go find some tools in the garage, being his first time going there, he gulp, walking as fast as he could to said place to then open the door, but once he realized it was locked with a padlock, he ended up using his fire to cut the chain in half, being careful to not accidentally burn anything since everything was made out of wood, he tried to make his way across the garage, that apparently had a lot of boxes so he kept tripping, but aside from that, it felt much bigger than he thought at first, and now he was anxious to be able to turn on the lights and see what was that about, then eventually, after moving his hands around on the floor and air in the middle of the darkness, being that his eyes didn't wanted to help, he found the tool box, now quickly making his way outside to help Coomer with the generator, then after struggling for a bit and trying to keep it in place, they turned it on, staying there for a few minutes to check everything was alright, then realizing that everything was okay, they walked to the house to help the others with the rooms, but as Coomer already was walking inside, he noticed Bubby go directly to the garage, so he stopped and decided to follow him in silence, and now standing besides him, he stared inside that garage, lights off, until Bubby stepped inside, found a lever and pulled it, for then a few minutes to pass and the lights on the roof and sides, immediately lighting up that room, that was full of boxes and even an empty tube on a base to be separated from the floor, even if the boxes were covering most of it, the view of that garage or well laboratory, was really promising.

– I had absolutely no idea that my clone would do something like this so far away from Black Mesa. –Coomer said as he stepped inside, looking at every detail astonished.–

– Well, this'll come in handy. –Bubby said with a smile as he put both of his hands on his own waist.–

After looking around in that place, knowing well it was way too much work for that single day, they promised on going back in a few days once they start working on everything else, so Bubby pulled the lever back up and looked at Coomer before pulling the door back down and kicking it a bit so it remains closed as well, and then walked back to the house, going upstairs to help with whatever was needed, knowing well of course that at that point the second level was going to be mostly clean, they had to organize some rooms for them to stay, so they started checking around, making clear from long before that the master room was going to be theirs, so meanwhile that room was already equipped, they would help with the other rooms since they noticed how tired they were just by cleaning, and of course that was totally okay as well. So letting them rest a little bit longer, they went to the rooms they told them to go and did everything they could to generate the furniture correctly, since Coomer normally had a tendency to glitch when he did way too many things and can get tired very easily from time to time, but after all he hasn't done much recently, so he managed to generate everything correctly, and so Bubby that was already going to the other room, so after a long while, and getting tired anyways, they finished with the basic needs of each room, Gordon and Benrey had a room with a matrimonial bed aside from a couch and a place they could put their tv and console since he hears Benrey talk way too much about it. They both walked out of the rooms and back to the others, sitting next to them since they needed to rest as well.

– Well, the rooms are ready for you guys to personalize it, we're done with everything for now. –Bubby said as he laid back and let out a sigh, clearly tired alongside with Coomer.–

Meanwhile the others stood up to see their rooms and fix everything to their like as much as possible, Gordon immediately lay down on the bed as Benrey was generating his console, games and other things that were theirs, like the vhs player and a lot of tapes, being of Gordon's family or a lot of horror movies as well, getting a little tired in the process since he had way too many things to bring back from miles away, and of course he wished he could bring people back, he was already missing Joshua. After a few minutes he let out a sigh and stopped making things appear, letting himself fall to the bed as he tried to calm his breathing, he got way too tired with such little but heavy things, Gordon realized this and gave him space on the bed to let him lay down correctly and sleep a little bit more, although they already slept in the car, a bed was much more comfortable than some car sit. After a while, everyone was in their respective rooms, adapting everything to their liking and simply relaxed for that day, then soon night started to fall, and now being able to turn on the lights, everything looked much more comfortable than it already did once they first got there, of course there were still a lot of things to work about, but they would do anything at their own pace since they were way too tired after everything that happened, things were much more difficult for Tommy after losing a friend, someone he cared about deeply and loved, he almost regreted not saying something sooner, but there was no going back now, after laying down on bed, he sat, remembering something Benrey said, there was an attic, and that was something he for sure was going to claim, so standing up, he walked out of his room, now looking at the ceiling looking for the entrance to the attic, and once he found it, he pulled down the string and just walked upstairs, everything was dusty, dark and looked overall scary, so he pulled out a flashlight and as he stood up, he pointed everywhere, it looked like it was full only of boxes, but there were a few armchairs covered by the same white sheet they saw on top of every piece of furniture, now knowing well what to do with that, he decided to ignore it for now and walk towards the window, opening to get the little sun inside and wind to breathe clearer, since the dust was already affecting him, and he's had enough of that for that day, turning off the flashlight, he found a switch and flipped it to turn on the light, revealing that in reality of that place wasn't as bad, of course that place was huge, even a bed could fit there since the house was big as well, and now looking back at the armchairs, he was sure that with a little help he could bring them down, seeing it at something fitting to give to Bubby and Coomer, that house was technically theirs after all, so as he looked inside the boxes, he took out a blanket and put it on the floor just in front of the window, he was thinking about getting some candles as well but he wasn't really sure about that, he needed a place to mediate, and that was the perfect one, away from any noise or interruption, and at least they knew where he was without worrying anyone, and so, he closed his eyes, hearing the wind on the leaves of the trees, the water moving from afar, letting himself go slowly, then waking up back in the control room he saw days ago.

Last time he was there, he wasn't able to remember much, but he wasn't just there to simply see what was going to happen or get ready for something, no, that was a room his dad would normally be, since he needed some comfort and talk about a few things with him, he wasn't going to snap out of it soon, even if staying there longer meant him getting more tired, but it was getting late after all, and falling asleep in the middle of the movie night wasn't going to be the worst thing in the world, he just needed his body to rest a bit more, his mind was calm enough to not need much sleep, even if suppressing your own feelings can lead you to a breaking point, he still had time. Looking towards the screens, as it extended up, even higher than he thought, everywhere was full of screens and control panels, some of them had errors, others were in folders sections, and as he looked around, he eventually saw his father walking towards him, and as he smiled, he ran to him, wrapping his arms around him, Gman smiling back gave him a few pats on the head, leaving his briefcase aside as he hugged him back.

– You're doing well, I'm proud of you. I'm sorry your birthday didn't, go as planned, maybe next time, hm? –Gman said in a comforting voice as he looked at his son with a little smile.–

– I don't really care about the birthday party, although I was really waiting for it to happen.. I guess you already know we lost Darnold, is, is he here? –Tommy asked, looking at him with preoccupied eyes.–

– I'm sorry, he hasn't arrived yet, but you don't have to rush everything, eventually the time will come, may it be years, months, weeks, minutes, seconds.. You have to be patient my son, if you need guidance regarding your.. powers, I'll be here, but for now, you need to rest. –Gman said as he pulled away from the hug, still with a comforting smile on his lips and a friendly tone.–

At first Tommy was getting upset, but knowing well that his father just wanted the best for him, he smiled back again, feeling a bit more calmed than he did before.

– See you later dad. –Tommy said before walking away, eventually waking up breathing almost heavily, gasping to catch his aire, looking around confused and then outside, it was already night time, and as he relaxed, he let out a sigh, standing up and closing the window.–

He turned off the light grabbing his flashlight back and went down stairs, pulling the stairs up again as he let out a sigh and walked back to his room, realizing that they were all sitting and talking on the little waiting room that there was on that second floor, so instead of staying inside his room, he walked to them with a smile and sat down, they were talking about the movie night and where they would do it, and since there was an empty room with a couch, they would have to generate a bigger TV and do it there, aside of course from having to do some popcorn and get some chips aside from things to drink, since they got enough things specifically for that one night, they were able to take enough freedom and eat more than they would usually do without risking much, so they started talking about what to watch, since they had the change to bring their own films for that night, so Bubby bought the Ghost busters on VHS, Coomer bought Men in black, and Tommy, being late and a bit confused bought Back to the Future, since Gordon didn't had any tape and Benrey already had a few movies, they stood up and walked to said room, Tommy being in charge of generating the TV and Benrey walking to get his VHS player aside from the movie he chose, he was still thinking about sharing the footage he took while they had Joshua, but he thought that they needed more fan than emotional content, so of course, that was a movie night, he could do a tape night every other day, there was still time, it wasn't like everything would end in the next few hours, meanwhile Gordon and Coomer were preparing the popcorn and pouring chips on now clean bowls, Bubby quickly walked downstairs to help get everything up, grabbing the sodas as he walked back up with Coomer, leaving everything on a side table and sitting down as they waited, then eventually Gordon walked upstairs quickly to not lose much, sitting on the floor with the bowl of pop corn, watching Benrey connect everything and then turn on the TV with the VHS player, starting with Bubby's chosen movie, sitting back down and turning off the lights just by doing a motion with his hand, he smiled watching the tape load.  
They watched all the movies they could, not really being able to control themselves from falling asleep eventually as hours passed by they all fell asleep, and the current movie they were watching ended, the VHS player ejecting the tape, and leaving nothing but a blue screen on the TV.

Being way too tired to continue that movie night after everything they had to do for that day, they simply fell asleep together in a deep but comforting dream.


	17. New things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy is really curious about the house, so before he and his dog went for a walk, he explored the basement, finding a portal leading to Xen that opened a lot of doors for the team.

The next morning and with the light sound of the static on the TV they slowly started to wake up, being Tommy the first one to do so, stretching and yawning as he looked around and stood up, slowly walking out of that room as he scratched the back of his head, as he looked around, he felt an overwhelming spark of happiness on his chest, almost feeling like crying, he just smiled, it was a cold morning, but a really comfortable one at the same time, so he walked around the house, checking every room that had the doors opened, then slowly walked downstairs, it was noticeable that they still needed to work on a lot, the second level was nothing considering how big that place was, almost unbelievably big now that he thought of it, he was pretty sure there was still a lot of things he hasn't seen yet, and being sure that he was the only one to explore the attic although there was a lot to fix and see yet up there, but now that he realized, he still hasn't even seen the basement, so he first walked to the kitchen and make himself a sandwich with some juice, going to sit on a clean couch as he finished eating his food, he decides to just let the others sleep while he made himself comfortable there, somehow he got used to running away, and now it was really difficult for him to not be on the defense or simply wanting to run, it was hard to acknowledge that they finally had a home, a place to stay without many worries, only having to stay put, some things were really hard to believe for him, of course being that one of them, sometimes he believes his dreams are even more real than reality itself, having the sense of fiction almost everyday, even eating feels uncomfortable to him, like if everything was a dream, but acknowledging that it was reality. After a few minutes of thinking he stood up, going first to leave his glass on the kitchen and then looked for the door that directed to the basement, since there were still a few locked ones, it took him a while to find it, until after forcing one enough and making sure to not make too much noise as well, the door opened, leading to a really dark stairway, barely being able to see the bottom of the basement, he quickly walked upstairs to get his flashlight, getting a few other things as well before going back down and taking his hoodie off just in case, and now as he turned on his flashlight, pointing downstairs, he walked inside, knowing well it was probably going to be as big as the attic, for some reason acknowledging that he was really close to the ground was what it was scaring him even more, so pointing at every corner he could, noticing boxes, a table with a microscope on top, and something being covered by a big white blanked, being that, it seemed to get most of his attention, so now looking for a switch to turn on the lights there, he started tapping the wall until he found a switch and flip it, making the lights turn on, as the sound almost of a machine began to be heard around that room, so being scared that it can trigger something, he started exploring as fast as he could before causing something without even realizing, but it was confusing as how a switch could trigger it as well, so he started looking everywhere, turning off his flashlight, now walking towards the desk, he looked carefully at some of the samples that were sitting there, aside from archives and others, something that was confusing him the most was that for some reason he thought that Coomer's clone would separate himself from science being away of the facility, but as he looked at it, he was still involved in it, not even knowing well how he even had samples of crystals that wouldn't even be able to be found on the ground of the earth, but suddenly, the sound of that machine became more and more obvious, he built a portal, and that made him have even more questions than he already did before, so he slowly approached to where the sound was coming from, grabbing the blanket to discover exactly what he was thinking about, and after close inspection, he immediately turned it off, knowing well that way too much time on could cause a meltdown and the machinery to stop working because of way too much time on after who knows how much time has passed since the last time that it was on, so once it started to cool down and turn off, he started looking through boxes, finding papers, old archives and other things, he just didn't knew what was it that simply felt wrong, that he was missing something, he wasn't seeing something, but as longer he stayed there alone the more anxious he got, so he walked towards the stairs, turning the switch of the light off and walking upstairs, then closing the door behind him as he let out a sigh, leaving his flashlight on top of the dinning table once he walked towards it, he decided to get some air and walked outside, on a fresh morning, though almost really cold one, he looked around and sat on the stairs at the entrance, eventually hearing scratches of the door behind him to open it and let Sunkist out, he couldn't believe how he almost forgot about him, his mind was really out of place last day after all, he didn't took much attention to anything, but he felt guilty for almost leaving his dog behind.

\- I'm sorry buddy, you know these times have been really difficult for me. -Tommy said as he hugged his dog and gave him a few headpats, almost being hugged back hy him.- Though that's no justification to walk over you.. Uh, I'm sure you've seen everything so far here, but why don't we go for a walk? -He added, looking at Sunkist with a smile on his face, the dog barked in response and wagged his tail, so they stood up and started walking.-

Knowing they still had some time to walk around freely before the others woke up and start asking themselves where they were, since Tommy spent most of his time exploring only the house, he never really looked at the backyard or what there was on his surroundings, he just needed to make sure they were safe, and too where they were supposed to put all the purifiers and the invisibility barrier as well, but he never took way too much attention to the sound in the background being from the generator, or the path that was leading further in to an opening, so being curious, as he looked the trees and birds around him, he started walking towards that path, carefully opening a wooden gate, as he stepped inside that area now, and looking back just wanting to make sure he was supposed to be there, looking how the fence didn't really ended there and was extended on the deep of the forest, not really being able to look where it was actually leading, he just followed the path he was intended and that after a minute of walking lead him to a river, with strangely clean waters and simply a good atmosphere, although having the fence extended to such big surroundings was dangerous, and they would definitely have to block that path too in order to avoid any big inconveniences and no one knew who could get inside of the fence or what the could even do as well, everyone was desperate after all, and as selfish as it sounded, even staying inside their area would mean death. He sat on the ground as he saw the water flow, feeling peaceful and calm, Sunkist lay down and watched the river, at first Tommy thought the sounds of the forest would be scary, with screams and other types of things, but now being right there, it was nicer than he thought, with the sound of the water flowing, the leaves moving with the wind, the birds singing, it was much better than the sound of a machine or an explosion, that somehow still resonated inside his mind, and he was sure he wasn't the only one, and knowing well that Gordon had it worse in some way, a simple sound wasn't that bad, he could get distracted at any time. After a few minutes of sitting there, having his eyes closed and listening closer to the sounds around him, he knew it was already getting way too late for him to be there, and that the others would start to worry if they don't see him around, so as he stretched and opened his eyes again, he stood up, petting his dog to let him know that they already had to go, so after a minute of looking around and back to the river, they walked back home through the same path and closed the gate once again, now walking back and checking as well that everything was okay as they stepped inside, no one seemed to realize yet that he was awake as far as he noticed, so he felt a pitch of relief as he walked upstairs and saw them talking on the waiting room, smiling as he walked towards them and casually sat on the floor.

\- Ah! there you are Tommy! We were talking about cleaning the first floor tomorrow, do you have any ideas on what to do today? -Coomer asked with a smile, although he looked a bit tired, he seemed happy and excited at the same time.-

\- Well.. We've been running for so long that I think it would be good having a day to simply do nothing at all, just, rest, we haven't gotten a good sleep in all these days.- Tommy said as he put both of his hands on the floor, shrugging a bit.-

\- That's what we've been telling them to do, but Coomer and Bubby have other plans. -Gordon said, looking at Tommy and then back to the olders.-

Tommy just looked at the confused, he thought that they agreed to take two days off because of everything that happened.

\- Well, you guys can still rest, but we have something to show you, and I'll say, I'm not forcing any of you to anything, please keep that in mind.- Coomer said, looking at Bubby for a few seconds and then back at them.-

They all stood up, following Coomer's lead downstairs and then outside, walking to the side of the house, to a door that looked like a normal garage one, but once they pulled it up, stepping inside and turning on the lights, it was a whole nother atmosphere, the tube that was standing there gave off energies of Black Mesa, but the boxes looked really out of place, it was noticeable that there was a lot they were gonna have to move the boxes and clean as well, but since it looked much bigger from the inside now that he looked at it, that was work for a group, not two people alone, since they were old as well, they thought that they've been pushing themselves enough. The garage had a little plataform that leaded to an old computer and the entrance to the tube, having to go up some metal stairs to walk there, occupying not much of the roof so you could still see someone if you looked up. It was almost scary the amount of resemblance it actually had to Black mesa now that they thought about it, almost triggering now that they looked at it for longer, it wasn't easy going back to the place you escaped from, even more when that tube had a whole another meaning for the olders of the group, so they didn't said much about the place, the others just started walking around as they looked everything and checked the boxes that were left behind as well, there was simply way too much to process, taking it as an opportunity to make their defenses more quickly, or taking it as no mattew how hard they try, how far they go, they could just never escape from the facility, and that was clearly something they would have to deal with, again, and maybe this time they had their space and some fesh air in a place that wasn't underground. Benrey walked up the stairs, curious as he looked at the old computer and booted it up, cleaning the dust off the keyboard and the chair, sitting down as he waited for it to boot up, concentrating for now on the sound of the boxes moving and rattling around as Tommy and Gordon seemed to look for something or well, something that could catch their attention, suddenly the computer turned on, making a starting noise that made him jump slightly, then a passport screen showed up, of course, to anyone that would be a simple give up sign, but curiosity killed the cat, he made a green screen appeared, connecting it to the computer and manually unlocking it, even though that already wasted his energy for most of the day, he thought that whatever was inside that was clearly important for being inside a laboratory, so once it booted up, he made the green screen disappear, stretching a little bit as he started searching through it, it was obvious that the system was still down everywhere, and then haven't worked on an antenna yet, since it wasn't really important at first, and logging onto the internet was really risky, they still needed something like that to be able to make their research and put a stop to most of things. As he searched he found folders with names of projects and codes they used to hear back in Black Mesa, it was almost scary how even being so far away the clone somehow still remembered everything about the data base, he couldn't even remember most of what happened in the facility or anything, of everyone he was the most disoriented, but going back to the computer, he eventually found a file called "Test tube baby" being extreme confused at first and looking back at the others for a few seconds, he looked back towards the screen, opening the folder and looking through the archives for something interesting, eventually finding a text file aside from a few pictures, the other files seemed to be codes and hand written formulas, but for that one, it was something he definitely had to see.

As he was reading the text file, he realized what the tube was for, turns out, and just as he heard Coomer say, his clone got married, ran away and started living in the middle of that forest, being together for years, they decided that it would be a good idea to have a kid, but because of their age it was difficult to have one without risking everything aside from both of them being infertile, so the clone thought that it would be a good idea to build a tube just like the ones back in the facility, and try to replicate the clonation method, but of course instead of making a replica, he tried to come out with a combination, being much more different and difficult than the original formula, he had to ran multiple test to make sure it would work or that simply it wouldn't fail, but since he was the only one working on it, continuously and almost every day, trying not to give up even in the hardest days, one day he felt ill, and even then he tried to push himself and make that dream come true, but as the time passed, and even being close to the solution, he passed away due to health issues, leaving that woman alone. The text file was never finished, but there was a dot in the middle of an unfinished sentence, an experiment that was never finished, a dream that could never be reached, he still looked through other files but there wasn't anything suspicious, of course there were too things that could help with their projects, but with what he just read and the energy he had to waste, it was simply way too much for him, so he stood up and walked downstairs, they almost finisge moving the boxes aside, they weren't as heavy as they thought so it was easy for them to be able to move them, it didn't took them much time so they still had the rest of the day.

\- What did you found? -Tommy asked as he watched Benrey go downstairs.-

\- Files, some formulas, and the reason why that tube is there. -He said as he looked over to the tube almost with a sad stare.- It wasn't clones, so we're good there, he was actually trying to form a family, but apparently he died before he could even finish the project, but we can't get rid of it, could be useful in some way. -He added, looking back at the others and then realizing how big the place was with all the boxes organized to the side.-

\- Well, is good to know he didn't had evil purposes, of course, it's still sad it happened, but we have to move on, the tube is a significant step, my clone was smart enough to do research for himself, so we have most of the information we needed here. -Coomer said as he put the last box aside and closed it as well.-

Tommy remained in silence in comparison from the others, thinking to himself, he was thibkiw rather tell them or not about what was inside the basement, although of course, that information could help since it was a whole portal, the only connection they had directly to Xen or who knows where, but it was the only place they could get what they needed for their experiments and things like that, so staying quiet wasn't the best idea in the world.

– Uh, Doctor Coomer? –Tommy said, raising his hand a little bit.–

– Yes Tommy? –He replied looking at him with a little smile.–

– So uh, I woke up earlier than everyone here and decided to check other places in the house, and I found a basement, so I went inside the basement, and there's a second workplace, but uh.. There's a portal probably leading to Xen. –Tommy said now with both of his hands on his own chesy, on top of another as he looked to an empty place next to Coomer, feeling really nervous.–

There was a silence in the room, not a confused but rather shocked one, starting to think that coming to that place as a runaway from Black Mesa wasn't a good idea, knowing that clone was still directly related the facility itself, even if he ran away, coming to that place was a risk, but so was anywhere in that planet now.

– Coomer, did your clone did more progress in a portal than us? –Gordon said, looking at the others really confused.–

– Well we fucked up the experiment after all, we were never ready for it to happen, and yet you hurried it, but as we said before, not our fault, y'all really forgot who our boss was. –Benrey said as he crossed his arms and walked to the outside of the garage, staying still on the entrance.– We should actually go take a look, we might be more close than we think, c'mon. –He added as he walked away, being followed almost immediately by the others.–

of course the laboratory was a fundamental part for be able to work more easily, having the portal would open even more doors as well make the process even more easier than creating the crystals themselves by scratch, having Benrey directly linked to Xen and safely be able to go through the portal, was a good team work as well, once they got to the house and went directly to the basement, Tommy still feeling somehow anxious and guilty for having said that, almost like if they were going to blame him on something, but keeping his mouth shut wasn't a good idea either. Once they were down there, Tommy turn on the lights and lead them to the portal, uncovering It again and leaving the sheet on the side, doubting if he should turn it on to show how it worked, but ended up doing so after thinking about it for a few seconds, slowly starting to power back on as it made an engine noise, then suddenly, and after a bright light made it's presence, a direct and clear view to Xen could be seen, although it was almost empty at that moment they looked through, the atmosphere and even the sounds gave a direct hint that it was the exact same place they thought it was, so after analyzing it for a bit, and receiving little to no answer, he turned the portal back off, slowly shutting down as the noises stopped, now being only silence inside that basement.

– I have to say, maybe we'll make it to Christmas eve. –Bubby said as he looked at the now turned off portal and then to everyone else.–

– We don't have to destroy it right? Just find a way to stabilize it so nothing wrong happens. –Gordon said as well, looking at Tommy then the others.–

– Well, I hope this goes better than the last time.. Tommy, thank you for showing us this, we've done enough for today, why don't we have a picnic by the river? We haven't eaten anything since we woke up, so come on now! We're getting way too distracted on a free day. –Coomer said as he walked upstairs, being followed by the rest expect Benrey, who just stood there, watching at the now empty portal.–

It was almost scary how he was only a step away from where everything happened, it seemed so far away and refreshing, and now it was under their feets, so much for nothing, everything was coming back to them, running away wasn't that easy it seemed, even if he tried not to think too much about it, wanting to be positive, to leave that life behind, how everyone thought he was the villain, he knew now the situation was much more different, he wasn't the same desperate asshole as he was before, but it was still scary to think about it, only a few days ago, everyone hated his guts, and now, they were acting almost like a family, how everything could change in such little time was almost unbelievable, but was all thanks to Gordon after all, he believed he was actually a good guy now, so everyone followed their own thoughts and player directions, it wasn't rare how Coomer now doesn't wants to hit him on sigh, or Bubby even burn him, maybe he still had to watch his steps, but now he felt less stressed knowing that Gordon didn't hated him anymore, and of course that would lead to something good, at least he believed, now realizing that they all already walked upstairs, quickly walked away and turned off the lights, going up the stairs and then closing the door to the basement behind him, the others already walked off to the kitchen and get everything ready for the picnic, and even thinking about it was already making him hungry, due to being distracted he wasn't and now his stomach was almost begging for some food, so trying to distract himself, he walked to sit on a clean couch, staring at the roof almost as he waited and trying to distract himself from still thinking about that old portal, maybe he thought about it way too much, he was really paranoic after all, it wasn't much of a surprise that it couldn't really leave his mind for those moments. After a little while of sitting there he ended up standing up and walking to the kitchen anyways, being handed out one of the bottles of orange juice they got, and as he waited for them to put everything on a basket, he walked to the living room once again, being followed by Gordon when he realized how quiet he actually was.

– Is everything okay? –He asked, making Benrey Immediately pay attention and turn around to see him.–

– Yeah! You don't have to worry, I'm just a bit tired. –Benrey replied as he looked down for a few seconds and then back up to him with a little smile.–

– You don't like the idea of Xen don't you? –Gordon asked with a worried tone as he tilted his head slightly.–

– I'll just try to get used to it, it's totally okay, I just don't like looking back to those aspects too much. –The other replied as he hugged the Orange juice bottle.–

The long haired, realizing his expressions, walked towards him to give him a careful and comforting hug, he knew he still needed those little shows of affection in those times, Xen was something different for Benrey, and of course it was for the rest, but being directly linked to it almost hurted, being the same place that he was defeated, a place that almost felt like home but really scary at the same time, he feared stepping inside that portal and getting corrupted once again, of course, he still knew how to control himself, but being honest, that wasn't the best place he wanted to be in so soon after what happened, so for now, the best way to deal with it was to find ways to cope. After a few more minutes of waiting they were ready to go, walking out of the house and to the river, where Tommy and Sunkist were not too long ago, sitting simply on the floor once they were there and getting things out of the basket to eat as they looked at what was just in front of them, they wouldn't have that freedom anymore, or such a pleasant view to clean water, they would have to clear everything, unless they found a way for the purifier to cover such big amount of terrain, aside from having to risk exploring whatever was inside that forest, it was something they at least had to discuss the next day, for now it was better to stay calm and take that day to relax, nothing has gotten to their location yet or figured out where they were, it wasn't something like the military would find them so easily for whatever reason, of course they still had to work fast, but the military now was the less of their problems, there was still some time, because even working fast on both purifier and invisibility dome, then again, the purified would take a big space, at the same time they had to care about the combine, since what the device would do was turn hostiles into neutrals, still if they somehow found them it wouldn't really work, the combine wasn't something they could turn into neutrals, the only outcome was to kill, but for now, it was better to avoid getting into a fight and reveal their location by knocking a ship down. After they finished eating they walked back to the house, Benrey and Gordon walking to the kitchen to make dinner as Coomer, Bubby and Tommy sat on the living room as they waited and just talked, they still wanted to plan ahead in case of missing something, thinking about better outcomes and others, eventually Gordon and Benrey joined the conversation as they waited for the food to be ready, adding ideas and eventually opening up a green screen to have everything more clearer and something that could be less hard, everything they would need and all the energy they would have to waste as well, of course, that day was still intended to not do much, but planning ahead wouldn't hurt anybody.

– Sorry, I was curious. –Tommy said, breaking context as he looked at the floor with a finger on top of his own lips.– What is inside the tank? Like, what kind of liquid is used so someone is still able to breathe? –He asked, looking at Coomer and Bubby.–

– Oh, actually that's a good question! –Coomer paused with a smile.– it's actually perfluorocarbon, since it's rich in oxygen and CO2 one can be able to breathe it without drowning, of course it's almost the same feeling, making it really uncomfortable and weird, being one of the reasons Bubby doesn't really likes being inside of one, I had to be inside of one for a few weeks to be able to create my clones! –He finished saying as he looked at Tommy.– So let's hope we don't have to use that tube ever again.–

– That's actually really interesting now that I think of it.. –Gordon said to himself as he put his hand on his chin and looked slightly down.–

– Is it too hard to make? –Benrey asked really curious, tilting his head a little to be able to see Coomer.–

– Well, it's a complicated process, yes, and it's still really experimental, but sincerely, Black Mesa was even more advanced than any other technology, so it wasn't too hard to make, yes maybe it's really complicated, but with some help, it's not too difficult to make, but making large amounts of it too fill and entire tank, it's difficult, since there were more of us back then.. But I'm sure that if something ends up happening we'll be able to make enough liquid for the tube to work. –Coomer replied and then looked at the green screen again.– Now! Back to what we were talking about. –

– I can go to Xen with Bubby, I'm pretty sure we'll be unaffected and it'll be easier to transport stuff. –Benrey said, resting his head a little bit on the palm of his hand.–

– I thought we left my transformation in the past. –Bubby said with almost an annoyed tone.–

– It'll be convenient don't worry, probably the island we'll drop in to won't be as messy like the last one, and don't be ashamed, no one here is judging. –The other replied with a smile on his face.–

– Tomorrow it is then! It's probably for the best, for now it's better that we rest and do "normal people" stuff.– Coomer said as he closed the green screen.–

There were a few seconds of silence inside the room, after Benrey almost jumped.

– Shit the food. –He said as he quickly stood up and almost ran to the kitchen.–

There wasn't much to do now, aside from eat and rest, those days really weren't going to be as easy as they first thought, and everything being so advanced, probably close to an end was scary, and not really pleasant to think about and yet, if they left their heads empty and thought nothing about the incident, repercussions and what might happened or what they could do, the plan wasn't even going to be able to work without planning ahead, it was that or going blind like they did before, because clearly a second resonance cascade wasn't going to be something really pleasant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long on my uploads! my motivation has been on the floor lately, and I've been really distracted, but I'm still working on this if everyone asks! I just don't have many ideas;;


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